Renee Montgomery

Renee Montgomery

Renee Montgomery at Championship Dinner, 2009
No. 21 – Minnesota Lynx
Position Guard
League WNBA
Personal information
Born (1986-12-02) December 2, 1986
St. Albans, West Virginia
Nationality American
Listed height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Listed weight 143 lb (65 kg)
Career information
High school South Charleston
(South Charleston, West Virginia)
College Connecticut (2005–2009)
WNBA draft 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall
Selected by the Minnesota Lynx
Playing career 2009–present
Career history
2009 Minnesota Lynx
2010–2014 Connecticut Sun
2015 Seattle Storm
2015–present Minnesota Lynx
2015–present Canberra Capitals
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com

Renee Danielle Montgomery (born December 2, 1986) is an American basketball player who won a national championship with the UConn Huskies in 2009. She currently plays for the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA and the University of Canberra Capitals in the WNBL in Australia.

High school

Montgomery was a captain each year of her high school career. She averaged 22.5 points, six assists, five rebounds and five steals while leading South Charleston High School to the West Virginia Class AAA Final as a senior. She led South Charleston High School to the West Virginia state Championships 3 times. She also played on the varsity soccer team. Montgomery was a high school teammate of fellow future WNBA player Alexis Hornbuckle.

College career

She attended the University of Connecticut.

Freshman year

She started 35 of the Huskies' 37 games at point guard and was named 2006 Big East Freshman of the Year.

Sophomore year

Montgomery started in all 36 games as the Huskies' point guard. She tallied double-figure points in 29 games, including four 20-point plus scoring efforts. Montgomery led the team with a 13.3 scoring average and 163 assists. She was named first team All-Big East. In addition, Montgomery led the USA U-20 National Team to a gold medal during the summer prior to the start of the season at the FIBA U-20 Championship for Women in Mexico City.

Junior year

Montgomery was selected as an All-Big East First Team choice for the second consecutive season. She was also selected to the All-Big East Tournament Team for the third consecutive season. Montgomery moved to the shooting guard slot on January 19, following a season-ending injury to Mel Thomas, after playing the majority of her career at point guard. She passed the 1,000 point mark in an 82–71 UConn win over North Carolina on January 21, 2008 at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies lost in the Final Four to Stanford and finished the season at 36–2.

Senior year

Montgomery reached double figure points in all but four games this season, and led the Huskies to a 39–0 season and her first and only National Championship. She finished her career in the Top Ten of many categories in the UConn women's basketball recordbooks including No. 1 in games played (150), No. 6 in career points (1,990), No. 6 in FG's (703), No. 4 in 3pt FG's (254), No. 9 in FT's (330), No. 3 in Assists (632), and No. 5 in Steals (266). She was the first Husky to be recognized in the "Huskies of Honor" while still playing in a Husky uniform.[1]

Sports Illustrated did a series of thirteen photographs featuring players and team member of teams chasing or achieving perfect seasons—an entire season without a loss. The photograph of Coach Geno Auriemma embracing Renee Montgomery during the 2008–09 season is included in the collection.[2]

University of Connecticut statistics

Renee Montgomery Statistics[3][4] at University of Connecticut
Year GP GS Min Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG FGA Pct FT FTA Pct OR DR Reb Avg PF FO Ast TO Blk Stl Pts Avg
2005–06 37 35 1035 28 124 288 0.431 39 116 0.336 43 54 0.796 26 54 80 2.2 52 0 123 81 3 63 330 8.9
2006–07 36 36 1136 31.6 177 403 0.439 46 148 0.311 79 113 0.699 19 80 99 2.8 53 0 163 95 5 70 479 13.3
2007–08 38 38 1197 31.5 176 468 0.376 70 225 0.311 115 145 0.793 27 70 97 2.6 55 0 147 75 7 72 537 14.1
2008–09 39 39 1237 31.7 226 505 0.448 99 260 0.381 93 125 0.744 18 64 82 2.1 41 0 199 100 9 61 644 16.5
Totals 150 148 4605 30.7 703 1664 0.422 254 749 0.339 330 437 0.755 90 268 358 2.4 201 0 632 351 24 266 1990 13.3

Professional career

She was selected at No. 4 overall in the 2009 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx.[5]

In 2010, Montgomery was traded to the Connecticut Sun, as part of a trade involving Minnesota native Lindsay Whalen, and the first pick in the 2010 draft, with which the Sun selected Tina Charles, Montgomery's former college teammate.[6] In college, Montgomery wore 20 as a uniform number. Players often become attached to their numbers, some more than others. Renee liked her number so much that her personal website is reneemontgomery20.com.[7] The Sun also added veteran Kara Lawson to the team, who had worn No. 20 in college and with the Sacramento Monarchs, so Montgomery wears No. 21 for the Sun.[8]

During the 2009–10 collegiate basketball season, Montgomery occasionally worked as a color commentator for women's college games broadcast on the ESPN family of networks.

On January 28, 2015, the Connecticut Sun traded Montgomery and their third and fifteen overall picks in the 2015 WNBA draft to the Seattle Storm in exchange for Camille Little and Shekinna Stricklen.[9]

On July 20, 2015, Montgomery was reacquired by the Minnesota Lynx in a trade for Monica Wright.[10]

USA Basketball

Montgomery at USA National team versus USA Select team scrimmage.

Montgomery was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009. The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants.[11]

At the conclusion of the training camp, the team traveled to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they competed in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.[11]

Montgomery was one of twenty players named to the national team pool. Twelve of this group will be chosen to represent the USA in the 2010 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics.[12]

Montgomery was named as one of the National team members to represent the USA Basketball team in the WNBA versus USA Basketball.[13] This game replaces the normal WNBA All-Star game with WNBA All-Stars versus USA Basketball, as part of the preparation for the FIBA World Championship for Women to be held in the Czech Republic during September and October 2010.[14]

Montgomery was one of 21 finalists for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team Roster. The 20 professional women's basketball payers, plus one collegiate player (Brittney Griner), were selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee to compete for the final roster which will represent the USA at the 2012 Olympics in London.[15]

Awards and honors

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jacobs, Jeff (Feb 28, 2009). "One Honor Left For Montgomery". Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  2. ↑ "In Search of Perfection". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  3. ↑ "UConn Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  4. ↑ "UConn Huskies Stats". Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  5. ↑ "WNBA Draft 2009". Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  6. ↑ Boyer, Zac (January 12, 2010). "Sun Make A Deal: Renee Montgomery Coming, Lindsay Whalen Going". Courant.com. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  7. ↑ "The Official Site of Renee Montgomery". ReneeMontgomery20.com. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  8. ↑ Altavilla, John (February 2, 2010). "What's In A Number?". Courant.com. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  9. ↑ Connecticut Sun trade Renee Montgomery, No. 3 in WNBA Draft
  10. ↑ Lynx Acquire Guard Renee Montgomery
  11. 1 2 "USA Basketball Women's National Team To Tip-Off Training Tomorrow In D.C.". USA Basketball. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Charles, Moore lead U.S. pool additions". ESPN. March 3, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Six Olympic Gold Medalists Among 11-Member Team Set To Participate In WNBA vs. USA Basketball: The Stars at the Sun Game". USA Basketball. June 30, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  14. ↑ "FIBA World Championship for Women". FIBA. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Twenty-One Finalists In The Mix For Final 2012 U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team Roster". USA Basketball. February 13, 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  16. ↑ "PAST WINNERS". Retrieved July 6, 2009.
  17. ↑ "PAST HONDA SPORTS AWARD WINNERS FOR BASKETBALL". THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program. Retrieved 8 May 2014.
  18. ↑ "Montgomery among 5 finalists". Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  19. ↑ "The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award". WBCA. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  20. ↑ Atkinson, Tommy R. (24 Dec 2009). "2009 Gazette Sportsperson of the Year". The Charleston Gazette. Retrieved December 27, 2009.

External links

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