MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Minnesota Lynx have re-signed center Janel McCarville to a multi-year contract.
The deal was announced Thursday.
McCarville started all 32 regular-season games she played in while averaging 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and a career-best 2.9 assists, the second-most among WNBA centers in 2013. She missed two contests due to a concussion. In seven playoff games, she averaged 9.3 points on 13-for-21 shooting, 4.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the champion Lynx.
The former University of Minnesota star was drafted with the first overall pick in 2005 by the now-defunct Charlotte Sting. She first joined the Lynx last year, after also playing for the New York Liberty and overseas.
The Lynx also retained another important player Thursday by immediately matching the Seattle Storm's offer sheet to shooting guard Monica Wright. The team's top reserve was a restricted free agent. The second overall pick in the 2010 draft averaged 9.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and a career-high 2.3 assists per game last season.
On a conference call with reporters, McCarville -- a native of Stevens Point, Wis. -- said she wasn't interested in exploring her options as a free agent. She called her experience last year ''like something out of a fairy tale movie'' and said she wants to finish her playing career with Minnesota.
''I think I showed what I could do, and they obviously liked it,'' McCarville said, adding: ''If they didn't want me, OK, cool: I would go and look elsewhere. But I wanted to be here.''
The Lynx open the season May 16 at Washington.
