The Minnesota Lynx today announced the team has re-signed guard Rachel Banham. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not released.
Banham, a Lakeville, Minn., native, wrapped up her third season in a Lynx uniform (seventh in the WNBA) as one of three players (Bridget Carleton, Jessica Shepard) to appear in all 36 games (five starts) in 2022. Banham contributed 7.9 points, 1.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while shooting 43.0% from the field and 38.3% (57-for-149) from three-point distance. The 5-10 guard posted season-bests with 25 points (6-of-9 from three) and seven assists on July 12 against Phoenix.
Banham was selected by Connecticut in the first round (fourth overall) of the 2016 WNBA Draft following an illustrious career at the University of Minnesota, where she ended as the Big Ten’s all-time leading scorer (men or women) with 3,093 points. The 2016 Big Ten Player of the Year, Banham hit a school-record 354 three-pointers during her career and ranked second in the nation in scoring as a senior (28.6 ppg), highlighted by an NCAA-record-tying 60-point performance at Northwestern on Feb. 7, 2016. She earned First Team All-American honors from the Associated Press and U.S. Basketball Writers Association and was a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award.
Across seven seasons, Banham holds career averages of 5.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 190 games.
Banham’s pro career includes five trips to the WNBA Playoffs, totaling 11 games, including seeing action in the 2019 WNBA Finals. She holds postseason averages of 3.8 points in 10.4 minutes per outing.
(info courtesy of Lynx)