Tina Charles Named Eastern Conference All-Star Starter

Tina Charles will represent the Connecticut Sun as the starting center for the Eastern Conference at the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game on July 23rd in San Antonio, the team announced Thursday.

“She earned it,” Sun head coach Mike Thibault said in a press release. “Obviously she’s become one of the dominant inside players in our league and I know that she will represent our team extremely well in San Antonio.”

It is the first WNBA All-Star selection for Charles, the 2010 WNBA Rookie of the Year. The Sun center received 17,205 votes and will be joined in the starting lineup by Tamika Catchings and Katie Douglas of the Indiana Fever, Cappie Pondexter of the New York Liberty and Angel McCaughtry of the Atlanta Dream.

“It definitely means a lot to make the All-Star Team,” said Charles in the release. “It’s a dream come true. Just being in the league is a dream come true. The contributions of my teammates, them pushing me throughout my rookie season and thus far this season and just them being there for me collectively, that means a lot. So when I make it, I’m representing the Connecticut Sun organization and that’s the best thing about it.”

The Eastern Conference Player of the Month for June, Charles is averaging 18.1 points and 10.6 rebounds per game for the Sun. On June 28th, she became just the second player in WNBA history to record multiple 20-20 games in her career with 22 points and 23 rebounds. Charles became the fastest player to record 500 rebounds during a loss at Minnesota on July 9th, reaching that milestone in just 44 games.

The Sun are currently 6-5 and will wrap up a three-game road trip on Friday, July 15th at New York. Connecticut returns home to face the Indiana Fever on July 17th at 5 p.m.  Sun tickets can be reserved by calling a Sun Ticket Sales Representative at 1.877.SUN.TIXX or by e-mailing the Sun at tickets@connecticutsun.com.