| 11.05.2004 Jon Ingram After much rumour and speculation about her future, Belgian and Valenciennes star Ann Wauters has decided to join Russian champions Samara next season.
Wauters, 23, is in the final year of her contract with 2004 EuroLeague Women champions Valenciennes and rumours were flying all season about whether she would stay in France, go to another team or even take a break from basketball altogether.
“I have decided to play for Samara next year,” said Ann on her personal web site www.annwauters.be.
“They will have a good team and have high ambitions for the Russian competition and EuroLeague. EuroLeague is still a top priority for me!”
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Wauters was elected MVP of the 2004 EuroLeague Women Final Four
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| Wauters will be joined by Valenciennes team-mate Edwige Lawson who has also signed with Samara. The club won the Russian championship this season, sweeping Ekaterinburg 3-0 in the best-of-five finals series. In the EuroLeague Women, they did not have such a successful season and failed to qualify for the play-offs after recording a 6-8 record in the Qualifying Round.
With their 2 new signings, Samara’s EuroLeague hopes for next year will be high and a combination of Wauters and current center Maria Stepanova (201 cm) will give the team one of the most formidable front-courts in Europe.
However, the decision to move was not an easy one for Wauters and she expressed her gratitude to Valenciennes for her time with the club.
“Valenciennes was my first professional team. They gave me the opportunity to show myself in Europe which I am grateful for. But I have been here for six years now and I feel that a need another challenge,” she said on her web site.
Before she takes on this new challenge, Wauters still has to finish her season in France where Valenciennes will take on arch-rivals Bourges in the league finals. Valenciennes have won the title 3 years in a row and will not be looking to relinquish it anytime soon, especially to Bourges.
Once that task is complete, Wauters will then travel to the USA where she will play for the WNBA’s New York Liberty. Only then, will Wauters join Samara and begin a new chapter in her playing career. | 
