All-Star Sue Bird re-signs with Seattle Storm

SEATTLE (AP)—Sue Bird, a five-time All-Star, signed a multiyear contract Friday to remain with the Seattle Storm.

Bird will join league MVP Lauren Jackson and newly signed stars Sheryl Swoopes and Swin Cash on the Storm. Since winning the WNBA title in 2004, Seattle has lost in the first round of the playoffs the last three seasons.

“Seattle is home for me, and I am very excited to be back,” the 27-year-old Bird said. “I can’t wait to get back to Seattle to make another run at a championship.”

Anne Donovan, coach of the national Olympic team, resigned as coach and personnel director in late November after five seasons. After talk of moving the franchise, a group of season-ticket holders bought the Storm in January.

“When I heard the Storm was going to stay in Seattle under local ownership, I knew I wanted to come back,” said Bird, whose 5.6 assists per game ranks second in WNBA history.

“With re-signing Sue, and the addition of Swin Cash and Sheryl Swoopes to the incredibly talented players we already have, I couldn’t be more pleased with how our roster has come together,” said new coach Brian Agler, who is also the director of personnel.

Liberty, Moore reach three-year deal

NEW YORK (TICKER) —The New York Liberty on Tuesday agreed to a three-year contract extension with guard Loree Moore.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Moore averaged a career-best 9.6 points and 34-plus minutes last season, starting 33 games.

She led the team in scoring eight times and ranked second in the league with 2.2 steals per game. Moore was named to the WNBA All-Defensive Second-Team for the first time in her professional career.

Lynx sign Gaurd Ashley Awkward

MINNEAPOLIS (TICKER) —The Minnesota Lynx

signed guard Ashley Awkward on Friday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Awkward averaged 12.9 points and 1.9 steals in her final campaign at Mississippi last season while carrying the Rebels to an Elite Eight appearance.

Currently, Awkward is playing for the Christchurch Sirens of the WNBL in Australia where she posted an average of 6.7 points in 23 games this season.

Minnesota, which will be celebrating its 10th Anniversary in the WNBA, is set to open its 2008 campaign against the Detroit Shock on May 18.

EuroLeague's Women All-Star Game

Despite lacking the international star power of the "Rest of the World" team, Team Europe took advantage of hot shooting from long distance as they rolled 111-86 in Thursday's EuroLeague Women's All-Star Game in Moscow. Spaniard Amaya Valdemoro posted a game-high 25 points to take home the game's MVP honors.

Newly naturalized Russian citizen Becky Hammon added 17 points for the European side, while former WNBA star Maria Stepanova had 16 points and 14 rebounds.

WNBA.com blogger Cappie Pondexter led the Rest of the World with 24 points and DeLisha Milton-Jones added 18 in support.

But it was the Europeans' accuracy from beyond the arc that spurred their first-half advantage. The Euros went 14-27 (51.8 percent) overall from three-point range, including Valdemoro's 5-9 mark. They also hit 21-24 free throws, an 87.5 percent clip.

We're also expecting to touch base shortly with Cappie Pondexter, who promised a new blog from the All-Star event in Russia. We'll provide a link when her new blog goes live.

Detroit Shock Re-signs Ford, Nolan, and Smith

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP)—The Detroit Shock re-signed key players Cheryl Ford, Deanna Nolan and Katie Smith on Monday.

Coach Bill Laimbeer said retaining the three All-Stars and the earlier re-signing of Plenette Pierson make the Shock “a formidable contender for the championship.” Detroit, which won titles in 2003 and 2006, lost last year’s WNBA finals to the Phoenix Mercury.

Ford was the WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2003 and won All-WNBA honors in 2003 and 2006. Nolan joined the Shock in 2001 season and is a three-time All-WNBA player. Smith is a four-time All-WNBA honoree and two-time Olympic gold medalist who joined the Shock late in the 2005 season.