Betnijah Laney

Betnijah Laney (born October 29, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for Rutgers University.[1]

Betnijah Laney
Laney in 2019
No. 44 – New York Liberty
PositionShooting guard / Small forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1993-10-29) October 29, 1993
Clayton, Delaware
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight166 lb (75 kg)
Career information
High schoolSmyrna (Smyrna, Delaware)
CollegeRutgers (2011–2015)
WNBA draft2015 / Round: 2 / Pick: 17th overall
Selected by the Chicago Sky
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2016Chicago Sky
2015–2016Perth Lynx
2018Connecticut Sun
2019Indiana Fever
2019–2020Elitzur Holon
2020Atlanta Dream
2021–presentNew York Liberty
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Medals
Women's 3x3 Basketball
Representing the  United States
U16 FIBA Americas Championship
2009 Mexico City
Women's Basketball
U17 FIBA World Cup
2010 Rodez/Toulouse

Early life

Laney started playing basketball at 10 years old, largely thanks to her mother having played basketball competitively. Her best friends are Aiyannah Peal and Sydni Epps.[2]

High school and college career

Laney attended Smyrna High School in Smyrna, Delaware where she averaged 23.7 points, 10 rebounds, 4.4 steals, 4.3 assists and 1.2 blocks per game as a senior and was named a McDonald's All-American.[3]

In her four-year career at Rutgers, Laney played 129 games with 107 starts, and averaged 10.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game.[3]

College statistics
Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2011–12 Rutgers 32 20.9 .378 .278 .656 3.9 0.9 0.6 0.1 6.0
2012–13 Rutgers 30 31.1 .364 .190 .667 5.0 1.9 1.3 0.2 9.7
2013–14 Rutgers 35 33.8 .435 .300 .747 8.5 2.9 1.3 0.3 11.8
2014–15 Rutgers 32 36.2 .486 .395 .704 10.7 2.9 1.8 0.2 15.8
Career 129 30.6 42.6 28.9 69.9 7.1 2.2 1.2 0.2 10.9

Source: Yahoo! Sports

Professional career
Laney playing for the Sky in 2015

On April 16, 2015, Laney was selected by the Chicago Sky with the 17th overall pick in the 2015 WNBA draft.[4] In her rookie season playing for the Sky, Laney averaged 2.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 33 games (32 regular season and one playoff).[5]

On July 16, 2015, Laney signed with the Perth Lynx for the 2015–16 WNBL season.[6] On November 11, 2015, she was named in the WNBL's Team of the Week for Round 5 after recording 12 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists against the Adelaide Lightning on November 8.[7] On January 13, 2016, she earned Team of the Week honors for a second time.[8] On February 16, she was named WNBL Player of the Month for January.[9] She led the Lynx to a second place regular season finish with a 16–8 win/loss record, and went on to score a game-high 23 points in the team's semi-final win over the first-seeded Townsville Fire.[10] With the win, the Lynx advanced to the WNBL grand final for the first time since 1999.[11] There they were outclassed by the defending champion Townsville (who made it to the grand final via the preliminary final), losing the best-of-three series 2–0. Laney appeared in all 27 games for the Lynx in 2015–16, averaging 15.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steals per game.

Laney returned to the Chicago Sky for the 2016 WNBA season. On June 8, she was ruled out for the rest of the season after tearing her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The injury occurred during the second quarter of the Sky's June 3 game against the Washington Mystics.[12]

On February 7, 2018, Laney signed a training camp deal with the Connecticut Sun.[13]

Laney had a breakout season in 2020 with the Atlanta Dream; she was named to the WNBA All-Defensive Team[14] and won the Most Improved Player Award.[15] In 2021 she signed with the New York Liberty.[16]

References
  1. Phillips, Carron J. (May 21, 2015). "Betnijah Laney returns to Delaware with Chicago Sky". DelawareOnline.com. Retrieved June 14, 2015.
  2. "Perth Lynx - Betnijah Laney Bio". YouTube.com. December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2015.
  3. "Betnijah Laney Bio". ScarletKnights.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  4. Phillips, Carron J. (April 17, 2015). "Former Smyrna star Betnijah Laney selected 17th in WNBA Draft". DelawareOnline.com. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  5. "Betnijah Laney WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
  6. "PERTH LYNX SIGN WNBA PLAYER BETNIJAH LANEY". PerthLynx.com. July 16, 2015. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  7. "BETNIJAH LANEY NAMED IN WNBL TEAM OF THE WEEK". PerthLynx.com. November 11, 2015. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  8. "WHITCOMB, LANEY NAMED IN WNBL TEAM OF THE WEEK". PerthLynx.com. January 13, 2016. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  9. "BETNIJAH LANEY NAMED WNBL PLAYER OF THE MONTH". PerthLynx.com. February 16, 2016. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
  10. "Fire vs Lynx". WNBL.com.au. February 28, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  11. "LYNX SMASH FIRE, QUALIFY FOR GRAND FINAL". PerthLynx.com. February 28, 2016. Archived from the original on February 28, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  12. "Laney Out With Torn ACL". WNBA.com. June 8, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  13. "Romero signs with Connecticut". wnba.com. February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  14. "Williams and Laney Land All-Defensive First Team Honors". WNBA.com. September 29, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  15. "The Dream's Betnijah Laney Chosen WNBA's Most Improved Player". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. September 24, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  16. "Betnijah Laney, who once dreamed of playing in WNBA after watching Liberty play, now signed to very team who helped inspire her". New York Daily News. February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
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