Bria Hartley, Kia Vaughn traded to Liberty
Washington Mystics' Bria Hartley goes to the basket against New York Liberty's Tina Charles to score a game-tying basket in the final seconds of the fourth quarter of a WNBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden, Tuesday, July 29, 2014. Credit: Jason DeCrow
North Babylon’s Bria Hartley is coming home.
Hartley, who starred at North Babylon High School and was Newsday’s 2010 girls basketball player of the year, was acquired by the Liberty on Monday afternoon in a three-team deal.
The Liberty obtained Hartley and center Kia Vaughn from the Washington Mystics and sent center Carolyn Swords to the Seattle Storm. The Mystics acquired the No. 6 overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft from the Storm and agreed to swap 2017 second-round picks with the Storm.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Hartley said. “It’s nice to be closer to home, close to my family and friends.”
In a separate deal, the Mystics acquired 2015 MVP Elena Delle Donne from the Chicago Sky for All-Star Stefanie Dolson, Kahleah Copper and the second pick in this year’s draft. Delle Donne wanted to be traded to a team closer to her Delaware home, which is an hour from D.C.
Hartley, a 5-8 combo guard who won two national titles at Connecticut, was taken seventh overall in the 2014 draft by the Storm but was traded to Washington and never played a game for Seattle. She spent her first three seasons with the Mystics, averaging 7.1 points and 2.4 assists in 83 games, including 34 starts. She averaged 6.5 points and 2.3 assists last season, shooting a career-high 36.2 percent from three-point range.
Hartley said she gave birth to her first child earlier this month, a son named Bryson. Now she’ll have the opportunity to raise her son near her family in North Babylon and play at Madison Square Garden for the team she rooted for while growing up.
“It’s going to be really nice because in college I was used to my parents coming to every home game for sure, and in D.C., it was a lot harder for them to get there,” she said. “They still came to a lot [of games], but now in New York, they’ll be able to come to a lot more.”
Hartley will be reunited with Liberty center Kiah Stokes, a former UConn teammate. “It’s really exciting to be back on a team with her,” Hartley said.
Vaughn, a Bronx native who attended St. Michael’s Academy and then Rutgers, was the eighth pick in the 2009 draft. She spent her first four seasons with the Liberty and the past four seasons with the Mystics.
Vaughn’s best season was in 2011, when she started all 34 games and averaged 10.1 points and 6.7 rebounds. She has career averages of 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 250 games, including 105 starts.
Vaughn will be reunited with Liberty guard Epiphanny Prince, a former Rutgers teammate.
