Indiana Fever waive Kayla Alexander, finalizing roster
The Fever have finalized their 2019 roster
Fever Head Coach and General Manager Pokey Chatman made her final roster cut on Wednesday by waiving center Kayla Alexander. Indiana’s roster is now at 12 players.
Alexander, a 6’4 center, has played six seasons in the WNBA. She played 30 games for Indiana a year ago, all of which were off the bench. She averaged 8.6 minutes, 2.7 points, and 2.2 rebounds per game. She played five seasons in San Antonio before coming to Indiana last year.
Here are some observations about the Fever’s final roster:
McCowan is set to see significant playing time
By cutting the team’s second-tallest player, it seems Chatman is confident that 6-foot-7 rookie Teaira McCowan is ready to play significant minutes at center. The Fever’s next tallest players are Natalie Achonwa and Stephanie Mavunga, who are both 6’3. Achonwa is listed as a forward/center, but she is coming off a season in China where she played most of her minutes as a power forward. She feels that was excellent preparation for her role on the Fever in 2019. Mavunga also feels more comfortable playing at power forward. McCowan is now the team’s only natural center. In three preseason games, Chatman has raved about McCowan’s interior defense. McCowan led the Fever in blocks and rebounds in the preseason. We’ll see if she can continue to make her presence felt like that during the regular season.
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A third-round pick makes the team
Paris Kea, a 5-foot-9 guard who starred at North Carolina last year, was the first pick of the third round. Chatman said it was a no-brainer to take Kea with the 25th pick in the draft. Kea was second on the team with 23 points in three preseason games. Veteran forward Candice Dupree said Kea was the biggest surprise of training camp. It can be difficult for third-round picks to make a WNBA roster, but Kea has clearly earned the respect of the Fever’s coaches and players. Expect Kea to see playing time throughout the season.
The Fever have a player who recently bought her mom a house!
Forward Asia Taylor has always wanted to buy her mom a new house. A few days ago, she did. Be sure to check out Taylor’s Instagram video to see this emotional day and hear why Taylor has worked so hard to make this happen.
Here’s the final roster.
#11 Natalie Achonwa (6’3 F/C)
#4 Candice Dupree (6’2 F)
#42 Shenise Johnson (5’11 G)
#7 Paris Kea (5’9 G)
#44 Betnijah Laney (6’0 G)
#23 Stephanie Mavunga (6’3 F)
#22 Erica McCall (6’2 F)
#15 Teaira McCowan (6’7 C)
#3 Tiffany Mitchell (5’9 G)
#0 Kelsey Mitchell (5’8 G)
#31 Asia Taylor (6’1 F)
#17 Erica Wheeler (5’7 G)
Suspended list due to injury — will not play in 2019: #35 Victoria Vivians (6-1 G)
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