July 15, 2009

PITTSBURGH — Former University of Pittsburgh All-American Shavonte Zellous, now of the Detroit Shock, has enjoyed a stellar first half to her rookie season. Zellous is among the league leaders in several offensive categories and tops among rookies in scoring.

Zellous, the 11th overall selection in the 2009 WNBA Draft and Detroit’s first choice, is leading this year’s rookie class, averaging 11.8 points per game and making 90.3 percent of her free throws, second-best among players who had attempted 60 or more free throws. Not only is she proving to be one of this season’s standout rookie’s, but Zellous is among the WNBA leaders in two separate categories; average free throws made (5.6, 2nd) and average free throws attempted (6.2, 3rd) per game.

With 10 contests already under her belt, Zellous is averaging 24.5 minutes on the court and 3.6 rebounds per game. In her WNBA debut Zellous made her presence known, scoring 18 points for Detroit in a preseason contest against Chicago. On June 28, she came off the bench in a game against the Sacramento Monarchs to score 18 points and lead Detroit to an 86-72 victory. Zellous has recorded six games in double figures including a season-high of 25 in a 96-86 loss to Atlanta where she was 17-of-19 from the free throw line.

Detroit is currently 3-7 in the Eastern Conference standings heading into tonight’s game where they will travel to Seattle, Wash., to take on the Storm.