Rachel Banham (born July 15, 1993, in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. Banham played guard for the

Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to i ...

team, where she set a number of team records. Banham was drafted by the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established ...

with the 4th pick of the 2016 WNBA draft. Banham was traded to the Minnesota Lynx on February 25, 2020. It was also announced on January 2, 2022, on social media that she and her boyfriend

Andre Hollins Andre Hollins (born December 11, 1992) is an American professional basketball player He grew up in Memphis, Tennessee and went to White Station High School there. He went to the University of Minnesota and played for the Minnesota Golden Gopher ...

were engaged at

Williams Arena Williams Arena is an indoor arena located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the home arena for the University of Minnesota's men's and women's basketball teams. It also housed the men's hockey team until 1993, when it moved into its own building ...

High school career

Banham went to

Lakeville North High School Lakeville North High School (LNHS) is a public high school in northern Lakeville, Minnesota, United States. Formerly Lakeville High School, LNHS received its current name when a second high school, Lakeville South High School, was built. Grades ...

in Lakeville, Minnesota and graduated in 2011. She started on the varsity basketball team as an 8th grade student. During her senior year, she averaged 17.8 points per game, 5.3 rebounds, and four assists. With these numbers she led her squad to a 29–3 record and a conference championship.

College career

After graduating from high school, Banham continued her education and basketball career at the University of Minnesota. Banham started all 36 games her freshman year, and was named Freshman All American First Team and Big Ten Freshman of the Year. During her freshman year, (2011-2012) she averaged 16.1 points per game which ranked her 97th in the nation. Her sophomore year (2012-2013) she was averaged 20.7 points per game which was good enough for second-leading sophomore scorer in NCAA division 1. As a Junior (2013-2014) she averaged 22.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. At the start of her senior season (2014-2015) Banham had only played 10 games before she suffered a season ending ACL injury. Before she had torn her ACL she was on ESPN's top 5 players to watch in the upcoming season. She later received a medical hardship waiver so she could play in the 2015–2016 season. When she returned to the court in the 2015–2016 season for her senior year she had an outstanding season. She was named Big Ten Player of the Year and was a

John R. Wooden Award The John R. Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. The program consists of the men's and women's Player of the Year awards, the Legends of Coaching award, and recognizing the ...

finalist. Despite her time off because of her injury, Banham came back to become the Gophers all-time leading scorer and tied an NCAA record with a 60-point game against Northwestern. Banham ended her college career on a high note, becoming the sixth-leading scorer in NCAA Division I women's history and the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

's all-time scoring leader at the end of her college career with 3,093 points. (As of the end of the 2017–18 season, she is now eighth on the career scoring list, having since been surpassed by

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Kelsey Plum Kelsey Christine Plum (born August 24, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She won a WNBA championship in 2022, when she earned her first All-WNBA Fir ...

(2013–17), now the D-I all-time scoring leader, and new Big Ten career scoring leader Kelsey Mitchell of

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

(2015–18).) Banham's senior year was not only one of the most memorable seasons in Gopher basketball history, but NCAA basketball history as well.

College statistics

Source

WNBA

Connecticut Sun

Banham was selected 4th overall by the

in the 2016 WNBA Draft. During her rookie season with the Sun, Banham played in 15 games and averaged 10.9 minutes, 3.7 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound, while shooting 41% from the field and 35% from 3-point distance. Ultimately her rookie year was cut short after she tore her MCL and had micro fracture surgery on July 10. Banham's best year with the Sun came in 2018 when she averaged a career high 5.2 points. During the rest of her time in Connecticut, she did not get much playing time as she only averaged 11.4 minutes, 4 points, 1 assist and 1 rebound a game in her first four seasons with the Sun.

Minnesota Lynx

On February 25, 2020, Banham was acquired by the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team won the WNBA title in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017. Founded pr ...

in a sign and trade deal that send a 2021 2nd Round Pick to the Sun. During the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Bubble Season in Bradenton, she showed some improvements averaging multiple career highs – 17.4 minutes, 6.9 points, 2.4 assists and 1.3 rebounds a game. She had her best game as a professional against the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

on September 12, when she scored a career high 29 points and 10 assists, while making 7 3 pointers. The 2021 season saw a change for Banham as her role decreased as the team signed

Kayla McBride Kayla Renae McBride (born June 25, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Super League (KBSL). She was drafted third overall ...

Natalie Achonwa Natalie Chioma Achonwa (born November 22, 1992) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish women's basketball team. Achon ...

Aerial Powers Aerial Powers (born January 17, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball at Michigan State University. After a successful coll ...

during the offseason. On June 29, Banham was waived from the Lynx in order to clear some salary cap space for Minnesota. After clearing waivers, the Lynx re-signed Banham to a rest of season deal on July 5 – allowing her to re-join the team.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

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2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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, 30 , , 0 , , 9.4 , , .327 , , .281 , , .800 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 0.0 , , 0.4 , , 3.3 , - , align="left" ,

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

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, 33 , , 5 , , 12.8 , , .414 , , .370 , , .868 , , 0.9 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 0.5 , , 5.2 , - , align="left" ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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, 29 , , 0 , , 12.2 , , .322 , , .306 , , .692 , , 1.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.9 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" ,

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Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, 20 , , 1 , , 17.0 , , .462 , , .472 , , .800 , , 1.3 , , 2.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 1.0 , , 6.9 , - , align="left" ,

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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, 27 , , 0 , , 12.6 , , .395 , , .373 , , .625 , , 1.2 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.9 , , 5.0 , - , align="left" ,

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

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, 36 , , 5 , , 17.5 , , .430 , , .383 , , .800 , , 1.3 , , 2.3 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 1.3 , , 7.9 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 7 years, 2 teams , 190 , , 11 , , 13.3 , , .398 , , .365 , , .795 , , 1.1 , , 1.5 , , 0.3 , , 0.1 , , 0.8 , , 5.2

Postseason

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, 1 , , 0 , , 9.0 , , .250 , , 1.000 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 2.0 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , - , align="left" ,

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, 4 , , 0 , , 6.0 , , .375 , , .600 , , 1.000 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 0.3 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" ,

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, 4 , , 0 , , 18.8 , , .310 , , .333 , , 1.000 , , 1.5 , , 1.8 , , 0.0 , , 0.3 , , 1.3 , , 5.8 , - , align="left" ,

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, 1 , , 0 , , 5.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.7 , , 2.0 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 5 years, 2 teams , 11 , , 0 , , 10.5 , , .318 , , .474 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 0.9 , , 0.1 , , 0.3 , , 0.6 , , 3.8

References

External sources

Minnesota Golden Gophers bioESPN profile
at gophersports.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Banham, Rachel 1993 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American women's basketball players Basketball players from Minnesota Big Ten Athlete of the Year winners Connecticut Sun draft picks Connecticut Sun players Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball players Minnesota Lynx players People from Lakeville, Minnesota Point guards

High school career

College career

College statistics

WNBA

Connecticut Sun

Minnesota Lynx

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

Postseason

See also

References

External sources