Tulsa Shock coach Nolan Richardson announced that Vivian Frieson and Juanita Ward were released from their training camp contracts on Wednesday, according to Tulsa World reporter Lynn Jacobsen, making room for Ivory Latta, who is expected to join the team on Thursday.

Frieson was a third-round draft pick last month out of Gonzaga while Ward emerged through the open tryouts the team held in April.

“At this point, the veterans are a little ahead of the players just coming out of college,” Richardson said. “They have a little maturity, a little better understanding of what the game is all about. Phoenix cut its No. 1 draft choice. So that says a lot about how hard (Frieson and Ward) worked.

“They could make a team. It’s just so sad that the numbers game got them. It was a tough decision to let them go.”

Frieson is the first Gonzaga player ever drafted. Teammate Heather Bowman is trying to make the WNBA's Seattle Storm as a free agent but the odds are stacked against her.

 

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