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Jantel Lavender

Jantel Lavender
Jantel Lavender 20161011.jpg
No. 42 – Los Angeles Sparks
Position Center
League WNBA
Personal information
Born (1988-11-12) November 12, 1988 (age 28)
Cleveland, Ohio
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight 185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school Cleveland Central Catholic
(Cleveland, Ohio)
College Ohio State (2007–2011)
WNBA draft 2011 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5th overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Sparks
Playing career 2011–present
Career history
2011–present Los Angeles Sparks
2011 Beşiktaş
2012 CCC Polkowice
2012–2013 Beretta Famila Schio
2013–2015 Wisła Kraków
2015–present Fenerbahçe Istanbul
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com

Jantel Lavender (born November 12, 1988) is a professional basketball player who plays for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Fenerbahçe Istanbul in Turkey.

Source

Lavender was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The event was held in July 2006, when the USA team defeated Canada to win the championship. Lavender averaged 4.8 points per game. Lavender was a member of the USA Women's U19 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia. The event was held in July and August 2007, when the USA team defeated Sweden to win the championship. Lavender scored 16 points in the preliminary round game against Lithuania, then scored 28 points in a win over Spain. She scored 25 points in the win over the Czech Republic. Over the course of the tournament, she averaged 16.0 points per game, second only to Maya Moore with 16.3 per game. Lavender led the team in rebounding, averaging 8.1 per game. Lavender was named a member of the team representing the USA at the 2009 World University Games held in Belgrade, Serbia. The team won all seven games to earn the gold medal. She recorded a double-double, with 16 points and 12 rebounds against France. In the gold medal game against previously undefeated Russia, Lavender had 14 points.

Lavender was selected in the first round of the 2011 WNBA Draft (5th overall) by the Los Angeles Sparks. Throughout her first four seasons, she was a reserve on the Sparks' roster and had been a key contributor off the bench with her scoring and rebounding. In 2015, Lavender re-signed with the Sparks once her rookie contract expired. Lavender had a breakout season in 2015. With Candace Parker sitting out the first half of the season to rest, Lavender became the Sparks' starting center. She would start in all 34 games and average a career-high 14.5 points per game along with 8.3 rebounds per game. That same year she was voted as a WNBA all-star for the first time in her career. In the 2016 season, Lavender became the back-up center on the team's roster, with Parker returning to the starting center position. Off the bench, Lavender was still effective for the Sparks, she had averaged 9.6 points per game and scored a career-high 25 points in an overtime regular season win against the Connecticut Sun. Her season performance would earn her the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award. The Sparks finished 26-8, advancing all the way to the WNBA Finals and defeated the Minnesota Lynx 3 games to 2, as they won their first championship since 2002 as well as Lavender winning her first championship. In 2017, Lavender signed a contract extension with the Sparks.


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