Mercury Acquires Center Alison Bales

The Phoenix Mercury has acquired Atlanta Dream center Alison Bales in exchange for one of its 2009 second-round draft pick the club announced today.

�Alison is young, big, and an up-and-coming player who will give us depth in our post presence,� Mercury head coach Corey Gaines said. �Alison has proven her ability in Atlanta and I�m hopeful she can contribute on our team as well.�

�We are always looking to improve our inside play and feel that this is a great opportunity to acquire a player that has been in the league for a two years now and understands how to play other centers in this league,� said General Manager Ann Meyers Drysdale.

Bales appeared in 14 games for the Indiana Fever in 2008 before being traded to the Atlanta Dream on July 4. The 6-7 Bales then started nine of 17 games for the Dream and posted averages of 4.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 22.9 minutes, all career highs. The Duke product ranked sixth in the WNBA last season in blocks per game, averaging 1.39 per contest.

Bales was originally selected by Indiana with the ninth overall pick in the 2007 WNBA Draft and owns career averages of 3.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 48 games.

The Phoenix Mercury tips off a summer of savings on Saturday, June 6. The Mercury will take on the San Antonio Silver Stars at 7 p.m. at US Airways Center. Lower-level season tickets for all 18 home games start at under $10 per game. For tickets and information, visit phoenixmercury.com or call (602) 252-WNBA.