Aces add two-time champion wing defender in free agency
The Aces continued to bolster their roster Sunday, agreeing to sign Alysha Clark, a veteran forward and two-time WNBA champion, to a two-year contract, sources familiar with the deal confirmed to the Review-Journal.
Clark becomes the Aces’ third major addition of the offseason.
The team acquired center Amanda Zahui B. in a trade with the Los Angeles Sparks, which sent longtime Aces wing Dearica Hamby the other way. Then two-time WNBA MVP Candace Parker announced Saturday that she would sign as a free agent with the Aces.
Clark, a 10-year WNBA veteran who won titles with the Seattle Storm in 2018 and 2020, returns to the franchise that originally drafted her in 2010 when the Aces were the San Antonio Stars — though she never appeared for the team. She’s a 5-foot-11-inch defensive-oriented wing who was a unanimous first-team all-WNBA defensive selection in 2020.
Clark can also shoot the 3-pointer, accounting for two of the three best 3-point shooting seasons in Storm history. She made 48.1 percent of her shots from 3 in 2019 and 52.2 percent in 2020.
In her lone season with the Washington Mystics in 2022, Clark made 29 appearances, all starts. The 35-year-old averaged eight points, 4.5 rebounds, two assists and 0.9 steals in 26.4 minutes per game in her first campaign after returning from a Lisfranc injury to her right foot that kept her out of the entire 2021 season.
However, she shot only 30.3 percent from 3, her worst mark since 2014.
Additionally, sources with knowledge of the deal confirmed Zahui B. is expected to report to Aces training camp.
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.