INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Fever have finalized a preseason roster for 2016 Training Camp that begins this weekend under the direction of second-year head coach Stephanie White. White, the only first-year coach in WNBA history to guide a team to the WNBA Finals, welcomes ten returning players from a 2015 squad that reached the playoffs in a record 11th straight season, and the Eastern Conference Finals for the eighth time in those 11 years.
White directs her team through its opening practice on Sunday, April 24, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (3:00 p.m.).
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Offseason player movement included the re-signing of four-year veterans Shenise Johnson and Lynetta Kizer, who eached played significant roles in helping Indiana to the 2015 Finals. An offseason trade with Minnesota brought 6-2 forward Devereaux Peters to the Fever where she is reunited with former Notre Dame teammate Natalie Achonwa. The WNBA Draft, just last week, yielded a pair of top college guards – Tiffany Mitchell (selected 9th overall) from South Carolina and Brene Moseley (21st overall) from Maryland.
The 2016 summer also means the final season for longtime face-of-the-franchise Tamika Catchings. The 6-1 forward and former league MVP joins fellow All-Stars Briann January and Marissa Coleman, and veteran center Erlana Larkins among top returning players. January continues rehabilitation from surgery on her right knee last fall. Coleman, playing overseas in Turkey, will miss most of training camp.
During what is her 16th WNBA season, the most of any player in league history with a single franchise, Catchings also hopes to earn a fourth Olympic gold medal with the USA Basketball Women’s National Team during the 2016 Olympics in August, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
While the WNBA celebrates its 20th season, the Fever embarks on their 17th summer basketball campaign with a schedule that includes a month-long break (July 23-August 25) for the Olympics. Indiana opens its regular season with three straight home games including a May 14 opener against the Dallas Wings (6:00 p.m.).
The Wings, relocated from Tulsa, also visit Indianapolis for a preseason game, just one week into training camp on Sunday, May 1. The Fever’s current 16-player roster will be trimmed to 12 by May 13, prior to the club’s season opener.
Click here to see the Fever’s complete 2016 Training Camp roster.