SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Silver Stars wrapped up the third day of training camp Tuesday with defensive drills and free throws. Training Camp for the 2008 WNBA season opened on Sunday with 10 newcomers and five veterans.

“I thought our people the first three days worked really hard,” said head coach and general manager Dan Hughes. “I think we’re still struggling to get the offensive execution that comes with so many new people. I think defensively we’re doing a good job. I think working at the aspects of defensive play we wanted, I don’t think we’re rebounding very well yet. We haven’t put together certain things. Our defense is certainly ahead of our offense at this point.”

While Sunday focused on players and staff getting to know one another and learning common terminology, Monday and Tuesday were a little more focused on basketball. The squad is scheduled to continue workouts the rest of the week from about 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Antioch Sports and Community Complex, 314 Eross St.

The opening of camp marked the return of veteran forward Erin Buescher to the court. Buescher was the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week in early July last season when she suffered a season-ending knee injury.

“It’s really nice to have Erin Buescher back on the floor,” said Hughes. “Just seeing her on the floor is a tremendous gift.”

While, Hughes is excited about the return of Buescher, he’s also high on 2008 WNBA Draft picks Alex Anderson and Morenike Atunrase, saying their athleticism has made them both a lot of fun to watch. Meanwhile, free agents Joyce Ekworomadu and Adrianne Ross have stepped up and done a good job running the point. Hughes said Ekworomadu, especially, has made a nice mark early on in practice.

While defense remains the overall theme of things early on for the Silver Stars, the goals for week one still include at least a little offense. “If we have a week with these players, we really hope that they understand our concepts of transition defense, that they understand our concepts from a defensive standpoint. If they have those two things in place, then it’s been a pretty good week,” said Hughes. “If we get to the point that we can run some offense and not throw it away, get a shot on goal – I know it sounds bad – but, if we can do that at the end of the first week, then it’s not a bad situation offensively. But, really, the key for us is do we understand defensive transition and can we defend in our team stature by the end of the week.”

The Silver Stars open the 2008 season at Sacramento May 17 before returning home to face the 2007 WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury at the AT&T Center May 20. For more information on Silver Stars single-game tickets, planned theme nights or one of the affordable full and partial season ticket plans, visit www.sasilverstars.com or call (210) 444.5090.