Marena Whittle (born 28 January 1994) is an Australian professional basketball player.
| No. 21 – Warwick Senators | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Guard / Forward | ||||||||||||||||||||
| League | NBL1 West | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 28 January 1994 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Caulfield Grammar (Melbourne, Victoria) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | North Dakota State (2012–2016) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 2016: undrafted | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2016–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2018 | Nunawading Spectres | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Bendigo Spirit | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Knox Raiders | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Perth Lynx | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2023 | Adelaide Lightning | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Ringwood Hawks | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023–2024 | CB Estudiantes | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024–present | Warwick Senators | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Early life
editWhittle was born in Melbourne, Victoria, in the suburb of Vermont South.[1] She attended Caulfield Grammar School in Melbourne.[2]
College
editWhittle played four seasons of college basketball in the United States for the North Dakota State in the NCAA Division I.[2]
Statistics
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012–13 | North Dakota State | 29 | 26 | 28.4 | .325 | .250 | .710 | 7.1 | 1.1 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 6.7 |
| 2013–14 | North Dakota State | 30 | 28 | 28.4 | .407 | .333 | .826 | 7.1 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 13.4 |
| 2014–15 | North Dakota State | 29 | 29 | 29.9 | .378 | .314 | .714 | 7.3 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 8.6 |
| 2015–16 | North Dakota State | 28 | 28 | 35.8 | .391 | .333 | .832 | 10.3 | 2.9 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 3.5 | 16.8 |
| Career | 116 | 111 | 30.5 | .383 | .310 | .784 | 7.9 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 11.3 |
Professional career
editWhittle debuted in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) for the Nunawading Spectres in 2016. She played a second season for the Spectres in 2017[3] and earned All-SEABL First Team honours.[4]
Whittle signed with Townsville Fire of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) for the 2017–18 season,[5] but went on to miss the entire season with a knee injury.[6]
Whittle returned to the Spectres for a third season in 2018.[3]
Whittle made her WNBL debut with the Bendigo Spirit in the 2018–19 season.[7] She then played for the Knox Raiders of the NBL1 in the 2019 season.[8]
Whittle joined the Perth Lynx for the 2019–20 WNBL season.[9] She was recognised as the club's Most Improved Player for the season.[10]
Whittle joined the Adelaide Lightning for the 2020 WNBL hub season in Queensland.[11] She continued with the Lightning in 2021–22 and 2022–23. She also played for the Ringwood Hawks in the NBL1 South in 2021, 2022 and 2023.[3]
For the 2023–24 season, Whittle moved to Spain to play for CB Estudiantes of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto.[1]
Whittle joined the Warwick Senators of the NBL1 West for the 2024 season.[12]
National team career
editWith the Australian 3x3 team, Whittle won silver at the 2022 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup and bronze at the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup.[13] She helped Australia win gold at the 2024 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup.[14] She was subsequently named in Australia's first 3x3 Olympic team for the 2024 Paris Olympics.[15]
Personal life
editWhittle's fiancé, Anneli Maley, is also a professional basketball player.[16][17]
Whittle currently studies a Juris Doctor at Deakin University.[18][19]
References
edit- ^ a b "Marena Whittle". movistarestudiantes.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Marena Whittle". gobison.com. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- ^ a b c "Marena Whittle". eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- ^ "2017 SEABL AWARD WINNERS". SEABL.com.au. 6 August 2017. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ Sod (26 May 2017). "WHITTLE LINKS WITH THE FIRE". wnbl.basketball. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- ^ "2017/18 SEASON PREVIEW: TOWNSVILLE FIRE". wnbl.basketball. 26 September 2017. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
Setting her SEABL team up for a finals position this year, Marena Whittle suffered a knee injury late in the year to miss the post-season and those injury concerns may hamper her first foray into the WNBL while also hurting Townsville's depth.
- ^ Bendigo (2 May 2018). "MARENA SAILS INTO SPIRIT LINE-UP". Bendigo Spirit. wnbl.com.au.
- ^ "MARENA WHITTLE JOINS KNOX RAIDERS SENIOR WOMEN". knoxbasketball.com.au.
- ^ Perth (8 April 2019). "LYNX SIGN TWO-WAY GUARD MARENA WHITTLE". Perth Lynx. wnbl.com.au.
- ^ Perth (12 February 2020). "KATIE EBZERY CROWNED LYNX MVP". Perth Lynx. wnbl.basketball.
- ^ Perth (8 April 2019). "LYNX SIGN TWO-WAY GUARD MARENA WHITTLE". Perth Lynx. wnbl.com.au.
- ^ "Australian superstar signs with Warwick". NBL1.com.au. 27 April 2024. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024.
- ^ "Bronze for Aussie Gangurrus". australia.basketball. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
- ^ Woods, Dan (31 March 2024). "Australia sweeps FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
- ^ "Australian teams for Paris 2024 Olympics announced". Basketball Australia. 6 July 2024. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
- ^ O'Donoghue, Craig (1 November 2023). "Dribble Podcast: Perth Lynx captain Anneli Maley discusses how she lives away from fiancé Marena Whittle". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- ^ O'Donoghue, Craig (30 July 2024). "Paris Olympic Games 2024: Perth Lynx captain Anneli Maley and fiance Marena Whittle ready for their moment". The West Australian. Archived from the original on 30 July 2024. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ "The 2024 Paris Olympics start this week! Meet the Deakin students representing Australia". Deakin Life. Deakin University. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "The 2022 Commonwealth Games begin this week: good luck to our elite-athlete students and alumni in Birmingham". Deakin Life. Deakin University. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.