L.A. Sparks Jantel Lavender named WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Jantel Lavender, the former Cleveland Central Catholic and Ohio State basketball standout, today was named the 2016 WNBA Sixth Women of the Year.
Lavender plays for the Los Angeles Sparks, who play host to the Chicago Sky in Game 1 of the WNBA conference finals tonight.
Lavender, 27, is in her sixth year with the Sparks and returned to a reserve role this season after two seasons as the starting center. In 34 games this year, she averaged 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds, helping the Sparks to a 26-8 record and the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. She had a season-high 25 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Connecticut in July and shot a career-best 53.8 percent from the field for the season, the 10th-best mark in the league.
The Cleveland native was named Ms. Ohio Basketball and led Central Catholic to the Division III state championship in 2007. She was a three–time Big Ten player of the year and two-time first-team All-America at Ohio State, being inducted into the OSU Hall of Fame earlier this month.
Lavender received 26 votes from a national panel of 39 sportswriters and broadcasters. Dallas Wings guard Aerial Powers and Chicago Sky guard Allie Quigley, the Sixth Woman honoree in each of the past two seasons, tied for second place with three votes apiece.
L.A. Sparks Jantel Lavender named WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year
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