Charles will be eligible to play for the Liberty against the Connecticut Sun, her employers for the last two seasons.
BROOKLYN-Charles is back with the New York Liberty…Tina remains in Phoenix, though.
The Liberty announced on Friday that Kaila Charles, no relation to the leading scorer in franchise history, has been signed to hardship contract. Charles, 24, will be eligible to play in New York’s Saturday evening opener against the Connecticut Sun (6 p.m. ET, ESPN), who ironically hosted her first two WNBA seasons.
While hardship contracts are generally not granted for opening night games, emergency clauses surface when a team has less than ten players available. With Charles, the Liberty currently house 12 players on their active roster, not counting Rebecca Allen, who is fulfilling international duties in Spain. New York worked primarily with a five-player lineup in a practice at Barclays Center last weekend.
Charles left a lasting impact at Maryland, ranking sixth in both total points (1,984) and rebounds (930) upon her departure from College Park in 2020. She was then chosen in the second round (23rd overall) by Connecticut in the ensuing WNBA Draft. Charles averaged 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds with the Sun (51 games), her most notable Connecticut moment coming in the opening round of the 2020 playoffs. In a 94-81 win over Chicago, Charles came off the bench to score 13 points in her postseason debut. Last June, Charles recorded her first career double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) in a win over Dallas, which was part of a streak where she reached double figures in four consecutive games.
The 2022 WNBA season tips off on Friday night, with Indiana Fever and Washington Mystics squaring off in the first contest (7 p.m. ET, Facebook).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
Baseline Sports NY is on Twitter @Baseline_NY
