July 9, 2002

Former Gamecock Shaunzinski Gortman leads her WNBA Minnesota Lynx team into Charlotte Saturday afternoon to meet the Sting at the Charlotte Coliseum. It will be Gortman’s first visit back to the Carolina’s since being drafted in April. Tip-off time is 6:00 p.m.

The Lynx are currently in seventh place of the Western Division with a 6-10 record. Gortman has played in all 16 games with two starts. Seeing action on a veteran Lynx ballclub, Gortman is playing over 14 minutes per game and is averaging four points per contest. On July 5th, the USC graduate led Minnesota with a career-high of 14 points against Utah. She is 13th in the WNBA in three-point field goal percentage (44.0%).

Gortman was the first SEC player selected in the April WNBA Draft as the Sting picked the South Carolina standout with the ninth overall pick of the draft. The Sting later traded the Columbia, South Carolina native to the Minnesota Lynx for two players. She left South Carolina as the 13th best scorer in school history with 1,331 points and is one of only 17 players to ever score 1,000+ points and grab 500+ rebounds.

The Sting are 9-7 on the season and are in second place in the Eastern Division. Tickets are on sale at the Charlotte Coliseum box office (704/357-4801) or by calling TicketMaster (877-WNBA-TIX.