Silver Stars Superlatives: 2011 Newcomer of the Year
With the 2011 Silver Stars season in the books, SASilverStars.com is giving fans the opportunity to cast their vote on team and season superlatives.
Over the next five weeks, Silver Stars fans will have the opportunity to vote on the Newcomer of the Year, Sixth Woman of the Year, Performance of the Year and Game of the Year. Candidates for each category will be announced every Monday.
Newcomer of the Year
While the Silver Stars core remained intact in 2011, head coach and general manager Dan Hughes built off the team’s strong foundation, adding six new faces to the fold. Anyone who was not previously a member of the Silver Stars before 2011 is eligible for Newcomer of the Year.
Danielle Adams – Selected with the 20th pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft fresh off leading Texas A&M to its first national championship, Adams quickly emerged as one of the league’s best rookies. The WNBA Rookie of the Month for June, she led all rookies in scoring (15.9) and field goal percentage (51.1) and notched six double-digit scoring performances in the first eight games of the season to lead San Antonio to a franchise-best 7-1 start. She netted a season-high and then-franchise rookie record 32 points to lead the Silver Stars to a come-from-behind victory against Atlanta on June 11 and was voted to the WNBA All-Star Game by the Western Conference head coaches. Despite missing 11 games with a mid-foot sprain, Adams finished the season ranked third on the team with 12.4 points per game while adding 4.3 rebounds and 0.65 blocks.
Tully Bevilaqua – A 13-year WNBA veteran, Bevilaqua signed with the Silver Stars as a free agent in March and represented Coach Hughes’ commitment to bolstering the teams’ defensive mindset as a six-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection. Bevilaqua started the first 25 games of the season, averaging 1.8 points per game with 1.3 assists. In 12 games off the bench, Bevilaqua averaged 5.8 points per game with 2.0 assists including 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per game during the playoffs. She finished the season averaging 2.9 points per game with 1.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists, leading the team while ranking sixth in the WNBA with a 2.20 assist to turnover ratio.
Jia Perkins – A seven-year WNBA veteran, Perkins was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Sky, in exchange for center Michelle Snow. A Texas Tech alumni and Granbury, Texas native, Perkins fourth on the team with 12.0 points per game while adding 3.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals during the regular season. She ranked second on the team with 22 double-digit scoring performances during the season, leading the team in scoring nine times including a season-best 31 points against Los Angeles on June 24. During her first career playoff action, Perkins ranked third on the team with 13.0 points per game and was second with 5.3 rebounds while adding 2.7 assists per game and a team-best 2.67 steals.
Porsha Phillips – Selected with the 30th pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft out of the University of Georgia, Phillips was the only third-round pick from the draft class to earn a spot on a team this season. Phillips averaged 1.8 points per game with 1.9 rebounds and 0.40 blocks in 8.3 minutes per game during the regular season. She finished the season leading all rookies with 1.86 blocks per 40 minutes while ranking third with 9.0 rebounds per 40 minutes. She added two points and a pair of rebounds in three minutes of action during the Western Conference semifinals.
Danielle Robinson – Selected with the sixth pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft out of the University of Oklahoma, Robinson finished the season as the league’s best rookie point guard. Robinson ranked fifth on the team with 8.2 points per game and added 2.3 rebounds while leading all WNBA rookies with 3.9 assists per game. She notched 14 double-digit scoring performances during the season, leading the team in scoring three times and assists on eight occasions. Robinson capped off the season with a franchise rookie scoring record, contributing 36 points in a 102-94 overtime victory at Tulsa. A unanimous All-Rookie Team selection, Robinson started the final 12 games of the season and averaged 5.3 points per game with 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals during the Western Conference semifinals.
Scholanda Robinson – A five-year WNBA veteran, Robinson was acquired in a trade with Tulsa, in exchange for the Silver Stars second and third round draft picks in 2012. Robinson started 22 games during the regular season, averaging 4.8 points per game with 1.5 rebounds and 0.72 steals. She notched seven double-digit scoring performances, including a season-best 15 points at Phoenix on August 20, and led the team in scoring on two occasions. Robinson added 2.5 points per game during the Western Conference semifinals.
