Lynx Acquire Guard Renee Montgomery
Alexander Shun
July 20, 2015
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Lynx today announced the team has acquired guard Renee Montgomery and Seattle’s 2016 second round draft pick in exchange for guard Monica Wright.
Montgomery, originally drafted by the Minnesota Lynx with the fourth overall pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft, comes to the Lynx with career averages of 10.6 points, 3.2 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game. The 5-7 guard has played in 17 games for the Storm this season, including two starts, averaging 7.1 points, 3.2 assists and 1.8 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per game.
During her one season in Minnesota, Montgomery was named to the 2009 adidas All-Rookie Team and averaged 9.0 points, 2.1 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game. She was traded to the Connecticut Sun in 2010 along with the first pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft, as part of the trade that brought current Lynx guard Lindsay Whalen and the second overall pick in that draft to Minnesota. Montgomery spent five seasons with the Sun before she was acquired by Seattle on Jan. 28, 2015 from Connecticut with the third and 15th picks in the 2015 WNBA Draft for Shekinna Stricklen and Camille Little.
The West Virginia native has appeared in seven career playoff games, including two starts, with Connecticut in 2011 and 2012, averaging 8.6 points, 3.7 assists and 1.3 rebounds per game. Montgomery was named to the 2011 Eastern Conference All-Star team as a reserve and went on to be named the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year in 2012 after averaging 11.8 points in 34 games off the bench.
Prior to the WNBA, Montgomery attended the University of Connecticut and led the Huskies to a 138-11 record in her four-year collegiate career that included two trips to the NCAA Women’s Final Four, four NCAA Regionals, four BIG EAST regular season titles and three BIG EAST Tournament crowns.
Wright, originally drafted by Minnesota with the second overall pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft, holds career averages of 7.9 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 161 games. In seven games this season, the 5-10 guard averaged 2.1 points, 1.1 assists and 0.9 rebounds.