The WNBA Atlanta Dream announced Tuesday that the team has signed veteran guard Roneeka Hodges and re-signed center Nadia Colhado. In addition, guard/forward Sequoia Holmes and forward Ify Ibekwe were signed to training camp contracts. Per team policy, contract terms were not disclosed.
"Coach Cooper and I are excited to add Roneeka's veteran leadership and blue collar work ethic to this team," said Dream President and General Manager Angela Taylor. "She is the consummate professional who will bring a lot to our system on both ends of the court. It is also great to bring Nadia back for her second year in the WNBA. She has worked extremely hard all off-season and is one of the talented young post players in our league. Roneeka, Nadia, Ify and Sequoia are all great additions as we continue to seek a WNBA Championship."
The five-foot, 11-inch Hodges has spent 10 years in the WNBA with five different teams, averaging 6.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 297 career games. She spent the last two-and-a-half seasons with Tulsa, where she started all 34 games in 2014, averaging 5.3 points, 1.8 boards and 1.4 assists.
Hodges, who was drafted in the second round (15th overall) by the Houston Comets out of Florida State in the 2005 WNBA draft, had her best statistical season in 2009 while playing for the Minnesota Lynx, averaging 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. She is currently averaging 9.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists for her Korean team Guri KDB Life Winnus,
Hodges was briefly a member of the Dream previously, having been selected fourth in the 2008 Expansion Draft from Houston prior to the Dream's first season. However, she was traded on the same day along with the fourth pick in the 2008 draft for Iziane Castro Marques and the No. 8 pick in the draft.
Colhado, a 6-4 native of Brazil, played in 16 games for the Dream during her rookie season in 2014, averaging 2.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.9 minutes per game. She had career highs of eight points on Aug. 13 vs. Phoenix and seven rebounds Aug. 17 at Connecticut.
Colhado joined Dream teammate Erika de Souza on Brazil's 2012 Olympic team, averaging 1.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. She also was a member of Brazil's 2014 World Championship team. She currently teams with de Souza and Dream teammate Tiffany Hayes on the Brazilian team Uninassau, averaging 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in 15 games this season.
Holmes is a 6-1 guard/forward with two years of WNBA experience. She played in 17 games as a rookie for Houston in 2008, averaging 3.1 points and 2.1 boards per game, and in 15 games with Phoenix in 2010, averaged 1.8 points and 1.3 rebounds per contest. She was a First Team All-Mountain West performer at UNLV, averaging a conference-best 18.3 points per game as a senior while finishing her career at the conference's all-time leader in steals with 263. Holmes is currently playing in Angola for African Champions Cup winner GD Inter-Clube de Luanda, averaging 14.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.
Ibekwe, a 6-2 forward, was a second-round selection by the Seattle Storm in 2011 after a collegiate career at Arizona that saw her become the first player in program history to total more than 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds or average a double-double for her career. She was the Pac-10's Defensive Player of the Year as both a junior and senior. Ibekwe is currently playing for Girona - one of the top teams in the Spanish League -- and is averaging 16.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
