Jaz Shelley Makes WNBA Preseason Debut

All-Big Ten guard from Nebraska, Jaz Shelley, made her WNBA debut during a preseason of game of the Phoenix Mercury against Seattle Storm. 

The match was played at the Seattle Climate Pledge Arena last Tuesday, 7th of May. 

Shelley, who was a guard for Huskers and attained all-conference honors thrice during college, played 14 minutes in the second half of Mercury’s 85-59 loss. The 5-9 guard hailing from Moe, Australia logged two assists, a single rebound, and a steal. The 29th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft attempted a three-pointer in her first appearance. 

Other rookies getting limited minutes squared for Mercury in Seattle; Christyn Williams played 17:20, Natasha Mack played 16:03 with slightly more extended stints than their teammates. Key Mercury players like Diana Taurasi, Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner, and Kahleah Copper played for nearly the same time as Shelley. D. Taurasi led the Mercury scoring in a non-double-digit fashion with ten points. She was the only player to get in double figures. 

On the losing side, Seattle’s Jewell Loyd led the scored with 18, whereas Nneka Ogwumike scored 15. Shelley will return to the court with Mercury when they play their next preseason game against Los Angeles Sparks at Phoenix Footprint Center on Friday; game time is set for 9 p.m. 

The regular season will start in three days for Mercury when they play Las Vegas Aces at 9 p.m. on this coming Tuesday. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.