Ngoyisa will be eligible for Fever tonight

Bernadette Ngoyisa, a 6-foot-4 forward and recent trade acquisition from the Chicago Sky, will be with the Indiana Fever for tonight's game against the Connecticut Sun. With Ebony Hoffman (5.0 points per game) and Tammy Sutton-Brown (6.0) providing marginal offensive help, she may provide a boost, though she'll be in much of the same boat Connecticut's Sandrine Gruda is: with little knowledge of the team's offensive system.

Here's the press release from the Fever's Web site:

INDIANAPOLIS -- A recent trade acquisition from the Chicago Sky, Bernadette Ngoyisa (nuh-GOY-suh), has joined the Indiana Fever during its current road trip to face the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday evening (7:00 p.m., ESPN2).

The French-speaking Ngoyisa was signed to a contract this weekend by Fever Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Kelly Krauskopf, and completed travel visa requirements before arriving in Indianapolis on Sunday. She joined her new teammates Monday morning en route to Hartford, Conn. She will practice with the Fever for the first time on Monday afternoon, and is eligible to play in Tuesday night's game against the Sun.

"Bernadette gives us more power and size at the post position," said Krauskopf upon trading for the 6-4 center's negotiating rights on May 14. "She will be a big presence in the paint both offensively and defensively. She also has experience in the WNBA as well as internationally. I am very happy to be adding Bernadette to our core group of post players."

Ngoyisa, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, did not play in the WNBA in 2007, but was the Sky's top rebounder and second-leading scorer in 2006, averaging 10.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. She shot 52.8 percent from the field in her last season in the league. She played overseas in Italy during the 2007-08 winter, leading Schio to the Italian League championship. Ngoyisa, 26, played for the New York Liberty as a rookie in 2002, and appeared in 26 games with the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2005.