Renee Montgomery

Renee Danielle Montgomery (born December 2, 1986) is an American basketball player for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She won a national championship with the UConn Huskies in 2009, and WNBA championships with the Minnesota Lynx in 2015 and 2017.

Renee Montgomery
No. 21 – Atlanta Dream
PositionPoint guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1986-12-02) December 2, 1986
St. Albans, West Virginia
NationalityAmerican
Listed height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Listed weight139 lb (63 kg)
Career information
High schoolSouth Charleston
(South Charleston, West Virginia)
CollegeUConn (2005–2009)
WNBA draft2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 4th overall
Selected by the Minnesota Lynx
Playing career2009–present
Career history
2009Minnesota Lynx
2009–2010VICI Aistes Kaunas
2010–2011Maccabi Bnot Ashdod
2010–2014Connecticut Sun
2012–2013Nadezhda Orenburg
2014–2015Vologda-Chevakata
2015Seattle Storm
2015–2017Minnesota Lynx
2015–2016Canberra Capitals
2016–2017Basket Gdynia
2017–2018Maccabi Ramat Hen
2018–presentAtlanta Dream
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com

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 Conference 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]

College 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

WNBA
Montgomery during the WNBA Finals in 2017

Montgomery was selected fourth 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.

During the 2011 WNBA season, Montgomery had the best season of her career once she became the starting point guard for the Sun. She averaged 14.6 ppg and was voted as an all-star for the first time in her career.

In 2012, Montgomery came off the bench for the Sun, but was still effective, averaging 11.6 ppg and won WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year. The Sun made it to the playoffs that year and were one win away from advancing to the Finals, but were eliminated by the eventual champions Indiana Fever in game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

On January 28, 2015, the Connecticut Sun traded Montgomery along with 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] Montgomery ended up winning her first WNBA championship with the Lynx after they defeated the Indiana Fever in the Finals.

In 2016, Montgomery played a full season for the Lynx for the first time since her rookie season. She averaged 7.5 ppg off the bench and the Lynx were in the hunt to win back-to-back championships, but lost to the Los Angeles Sparks in the Finals.

In 2017, Montgomery averaged 8.0 ppg and achieved a new career-high in field goal shooting percentage. Montgomery also started in 12 of 34 games played while Whalen was sidelined with a hand injury. The Lynx continued to be a championship contender in the league after making it to the Finals for the sixth time in seven seasons, setting up a rematch with the Sparks. This time the Lynx would win in 5 games, winning their fourth championship in seven seasons, tying the now-defunct Houston Comets for most championship titles.

On February 1, 2018, Montgomery signed a multi-year contract with the Atlanta Dream.[11] She would be the starting point guard for the team. On August 12, 2018, Montgomery scored a season-high 30 points along with a career-high 8 three-pointers in an 86-77 victory over the New York Liberty, tying the regular season record for most three-pointers in a game. She also hit 7 of her 8 three-pointers in the second half, breaking the WNBA record for most three-pointers in a half.[12] By the end of the season, Montgomery set the franchise record for most three-pointers made in a season. The Dream would finish 23-11 with the number 2 seed in the league, receiving a double-bye to the semi-finals. Without the team's leading scorer Angel McCoughtry who was sidelined with a knee injury, the Dream were short handed in the playoffs as they lost in five games to the Washington Mystics.

In June of 2020, Montgomery announced that she would forgo the 2020 WNBA season due to concerns of racism and the coronavirus. [13]

Overseas

In the 2009-10 off-season, Montgomery played in Lituania for VICI Aistes Kaunas. In the 2010-11 off-season, Montgomery played in Israel for Maccabi Bnot Ashdod. In the 2012-13 off-season, Montgomery played in Russia for Nadezhda Orenburg. In the 2014-15 offseason, Montgomery returned to Lituania to play for Vologda-Chevakata. In the 2015-16 off-season, Montgomery played in Australia for the Canberra Capitals. As of August 2016, Montgomery signed with Basket Gdynia, a Polish club for the 2016-17 off-season.[14] In 2017, Montgomery signed with Maccabi Ramat Hen of the Israeli League for the 2017-18 off-season.[15]

WNBA career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career high ° League leader
† Denotes seasons in which Montgomery won a WNBA championship

Regular season
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2009 Minnesota 34922.5.408.347.8331.92.10.70.21.99.0
2010 Connecticut 342327.6.401.349.8552.24.11.30.02.213.3
2011 Connecticut 343429.1.400.384.8292.14.91.40.02.614.6
2012 Connecticut 34024.0.348.364.8481.92.61.00.02.211.6
2013 Connecticut 231827.2.365.327.8971.83.10.70.02.410.1
2014 Connecticut 33016.2.373.330.7750.82.40.60.01.36.7
2015* Seattle 17217.8.377.392.8701.83.00.90.12.07.1
2015* Minnesota 17517.9.368.232.7141.22.50.60.01.05.7
2015† Total 34717.8.372.312.7591.52.70.70.01.06.4
2016 Minnesota 34219.3.397.321.8280.92.80.90.01.77.5
2017† Minnesota 341221.8.424.358.8421.63.40.70.01.78.0
2018 Atlanta 343427.5.389.371.8811.73.71.30.01.510.3
Career 10 years, 5 teams 33013923.2.388.350.8411.63.21.00.01.99.7

Postseason
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2011 Connecticut 2228.5.471.333.8751.54.50.50.53.513.0
2012 Connecticut 5024.0.393.412.8331.23.40.40.01.46.8
2015† Minnesota 909.7.478.308.8750.30.90.60.10.53.7
2016 Minnesota 8012.6.370.444.9000.41.90.50.01.04.1
2017† Minnesota 8017.1.449.393.5001.31.90.50.21.27.0
2018 Atlanta 5531.7.293.286.8462.04.20.20.21.88.6
Career 6 years, 3 teams 37717.9.400.356.8510.92.30.50.11.26.1

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.[16]

At the conclusion of the training camp, the team traveled to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they competed in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.[16]

Montgomery was one of twenty players named to the national team pool. Twelve of this group will be chosen to represent the US in the 2010 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics.[17]

Montgomery was named as one of the National team members to represent the USA Basketball team in the WNBA versus USA Basketball.[18] 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.[19]

Awards and honors

See also

References
  1. Jacobs, Jeff (February 28, 2009). "One Honor Left For Montgomery". Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  2. "In Search of Perfection". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 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. Archived from the original on May 13, 2010. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  8. Altavilla, John (February 2, 2010). "What's In A Number?". Courant.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  9. "Connecticut Sun trade Renee Montgomery, No. 3 pick in WNBA Draft". New Haven Register. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  10. "Lynx Acquire Guard Renee Montgomery - Minnesota Lynx". Minnesota Lynx. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  11. "Atlanta Dream Sign Two-Time WNBA Champion Renee Montgomery". WNBA.com. February 1, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  12. Atlanta's Renee Montgomery hits 8 3s to tie WNBA record
  13. https://www.cbssports.com/wnba/news/wnba-2020-season-jonquel-jones-renee-montgomery-natasha-cloud-among-players-sitting-out/
  14. "2016-2017 WNBA Overseas Signings - Women's Basketball 24.7". Women's Basketball 24.7. August 22, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  15. WNBA Players Playing Overseas
  16. "USA Basketball Women's National Team To Tip-Off Training Tomorrow In D.C." USA Basketball. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  17. "Charles, Moore lead U.S. pool additions". ESPN. March 3, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  18. "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. Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  19. "FIBA World Championship for Women". FIBA. Archived from the original on July 10, 2010. Retrieved July 5, 2010.
  20. "PAST WINNERS". Archived from the original on May 10, 2008. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
  21. "PAST HONDA SPORTS AWARD WINNERS FOR BASKETBALL". THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards Program. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  22. "Montgomery among 5 finalists". Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  23. "The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award". WBCA. Archived from the original on November 8, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
  24. Atkinson, Tommy R. (December 24, 2009). "2009 Gazette Sportsperson of the Year". The Charleston Gazette. Archived from the original on December 30, 2009. Retrieved December 27, 2009.
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