SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Silver Stars have tabbed Vanessa Nygaard as the team’s assistant coach and video coordinator, according to General Manager and Head Coach Dan Hughes.

She joins the Silver Stars staff after spending four seasons as an assistant with the Pepperdine women’s basketball team.

"Vanessa is an outstanding addition to our staff,” said Hughes. “Along with Sandy Brondello and Olaf Lange, we have a great teaching staff for our players. Vanessa has great experience in our league as a player and in the collegiate ranks as a coach. She is a very in-demand young coach and we apprecaite her choosing to begin her pro coaching career with us."

The New York Liberty drafted Nygaard 39th overall in 1998, and she played one season in New York. She then played for the Portland Fire (2000-01), Miami Sol (2002) and Los Angeles Sparks (2003).

Her early professional career was hampered by injuries, but she started for Portland and Miami with her best season coming in 2002 as she averaged 7.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Nygaard also played professionally overseas in Italy (1998), Spain (1999) and Germany (2001). Prior to joining Pepperdine’s staff, Nygaard served as an assistant coach at Long Beach State during the 2003-04 season.

Nygaard played collegiate ball at Stanford (1993-98) where she helped the Cardinal to three Final Four appearances and set the Stanford mark for career three-pointers made (210) and attempted (536). She finished 16th all-time in career scoring with 1,279 points and averaged 14.9 points per game. Her 75 three-pointers set the school single-season record during the 1995-96 season. Nygaard also averaged 7.0 rebounds per game over her final three seasons and 5.4 for her career. She graduated with a degree in American studies from Stanford in 1998.

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.