The Phoenix Mercury announced Thursday they signed former Indiana women’s basketball standout Shay Ciezki to a developmental contract.
The 5-foot-7 guard appeared in both of the Mercury’s preseason games, totaling 10 points and seven steals in 16 minutes played. She was waived by the team Monday after initially signing with them as an undrafted free agent on April 14.
Ciezki was required to clear waivers before she was eligible to re-join Phoenix on a developmental deal.
A native of Lancaster, New York, Ciezki became just the second-ever NCAA Division I women’s basketball player to record a 50/40/90 while scoring at least 20 points per game last season, posting a 53/45/91 with a school-record scoring average of 22.8 points. She rounded out her line with 3.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals over 31 games.
A USBWA All-American honorable mention, Ciezki finished her four-year career with 1,854 points, 344 assists, 333 rebounds and 149 steals after playing her first two seasons at Penn State. She boasted career shooting rates of 47/41/89.
As part of the new collective bargaining agreement, WNBA teams are allowed up to two developmental spots in addition to their standard 12-player roster. These players can participate in all practice and travel, and are eligible to compete in up to 12 games. The additional spots were added to provide depth in the event of injuries and to allow teams to retain talent for future seasons.
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: She set an IU women’s basketball scoring record, now gets shot at WNBA
Reporting by Brian Haenchen, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
