Thursday, March 03, 2005
Chicago WNBA Heads Downstate
Team Introduces Itself at State's High School Basketball Tourney
CHICAGO, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the recent announcement that Chicago now has its own WNBA team (tipping off its first game in May 2006), the team will extend its reach statewide at the Illinois High School Association's Class AA girls basketball tournament this week in Bloomington/Normal.
WNBA player and Illinois high school basketball star Tangela Smith, currently a forward/center for the WNBA's Sacramento Monarchs, will join WNBA team president and CEO Margaret Stender at a banquet honoring the Class AA girls basketball's tournament teams and coaches tomorrow evening (Thurs., March 3). Tangela Smith will remain in Bloomington on Friday to sign autographs; meet the players, families and attending fans. She'll also be on hand to talk about her excitement that Chicago, one of the nation's largest cities, has joined the WNBA family.
"While our new WNBA team will play in Chicago, we're confident it will quickly become a point of pride for our entire state," said Margaret Stender. "The Class AA tournament is a great place to extend this exciting news to basketball players and fans statewide. We hope that having Tangela meet the players and talk about the league will serve as added inspiration for all the young women who have already accomplished so much and who will be putting it all out there on the courts this weekend during the state finals."
The Chicago WNBA team will begin season play in May of 2006. All home games will be played at the UIC-Pavilion on the campus of the University of Illinois-Chicago. Season tickets for the Chicago WNBA team's 17 home games and 2 pre-season games can be purchased by calling 1-877-329-WNBA (9622) or on-line at the team's website http://www.chicagownba.com . The Chicago WNBA has not yet announced its team nickname. That information will be released at a later date.
For information on the Illinois High School Association's Class AA girls basketball tournament, visit http://www.IHSA.org . For more information on the WNBA or additional player information, visit http://wnba.com .
