THE FOLLOWING FROM THE WNBL WEBSITE.
Sun sets on Summerton
World Champion defencejobs Opal Laura Summerton has been waived by the Connecticut Sun and will not take part in the 2007 WNBA season.
Summerton was unequivocally dumped by Connecticut Head Coach Mike Thibault before the Sun's final pre-season game. With the match about to tip off, Summerton was told the bad news and not afforded the opportunity to say goodbye to her team mates.
"That's the way they do it in America," Jan Stirling said. "It's shocking." "But it is certainly not an indication of the way she has been playing lately. She was an instrumental part of our Opals team that won the World Championship last September and she was outstanding for Taranto in Italy after that."
Some speculation surrounds Summerton's next stop, but rumours that she will rejoin the Adelaide Lightning for the 2007/08 defencejobs WNBL season are untrue.
Instead, it is believed she will fulfill the second year of her contract with Taranto in the premier Italian women's basketball league, Serie A1.
Summerton played three seasons with the Australian Institute of Sport in the defencejobs WNBL before spending four seasons with the Lightning, one with Connecticut and one with Taranto.
In the mean time, Summerton would be available for Opals duty, which would include a camp on the Gold Coast as well as tours to China, Russia and the USA. The 189cm South Australian has played 133 games for Australia, including the 2001 FIBA World Championship for Under 19 women, the 2003 FIBA World Championship for Under 21 women and the 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, where the Opals won Gold.
She is also a Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist.
Snubbing Summerton may come back to haunt Thibault, an Assistant Coach on the US women's national team.
The Opals are scheduled to play Team America in the United States in September, where an Opals victory would ensure Summerton had the last laugh.
"She is a class player and a wonderful person," Stirling said.
The Opals would welcome her with open arms."
