Marena Whittle

Marena Whittle
No. 21 – Warwick Senators
PositionGuard / Forward
LeagueNBL1 West
Personal information
Born (1994-01-28) 28 January 1994 (age 30)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Career information
High schoolCaulfield Grammar
(Melbourne, Victoria)
CollegeNorth Dakota State (2012–2016)
WNBA draft2016: undrafted
Playing career2016–present
Career history
2016–2018Nunawading Spectres
2018–2019Bendigo Spirit
2019Knox Raiders
2019–2020Perth Lynx
2020–2023Adelaide Lightning
2021–2023Ringwood Hawks
2023–2024CB Estudiantes
2024–presentWarwick Senators
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Representing  Australia
Women's 3x3 basketball
FIBA 3x3 World Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Vienna Team
Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham 3x3

Marena Whittle (born 28 January 1994) is an Australian professional basketball player.

Early life

Whittle was born in Melbourne, Victoria, in the suburb of Vermont South.[1] She attended Caulfield Grammar School in Melbourne.[2]

College

Whittle played four seasons of college basketball in the United States for the North Dakota State in the NCAA Division I.[2]

Statistics

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

Whittle 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

With 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

Whittle's fiancé, Anneli Maley, is also a professional basketball player.[16][17]

Whittle currently studies a Juris Doctor at Deakin University.[18][19]

References

  1. ^ a b "Marena Whittle". movistarestudiantes.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Marena Whittle". gobison.com. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Marena Whittle". eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  4. ^ "2017 SEABL AWARD WINNERS". SEABL.com.au. 6 August 2017. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  5. ^ Sod (26 May 2017). "WHITTLE LINKS WITH THE FIRE". wnbl.basketball. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ Bendigo (2 May 2018). "MARENA SAILS INTO SPIRIT LINE-UP". Bendigo Spirit. wnbl.com.au.
  8. ^ "MARENA WHITTLE JOINS KNOX RAIDERS SENIOR WOMEN". knoxbasketball.com.au.
  9. ^ Perth (8 April 2019). "LYNX SIGN TWO-WAY GUARD MARENA WHITTLE". Perth Lynx. wnbl.com.au.
  10. ^ Perth (12 February 2020). "KATIE EBZERY CROWNED LYNX MVP". Perth Lynx. wnbl.basketball.
  11. ^ Perth (8 April 2019). "LYNX SIGN TWO-WAY GUARD MARENA WHITTLE". Perth Lynx. wnbl.com.au.
  12. ^ "Australian superstar signs with Warwick". NBL1.com.au. 27 April 2024. Archived from the original on 11 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Bronze for Aussie Gangurrus". australia.basketball. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  14. ^ Woods, Dan (31 March 2024). "Australia sweeps FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
  15. ^ "Australian teams for Paris 2024 Olympics announced". Basketball Australia. 6 July 2024. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ 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.
  18. ^ "The 2024 Paris Olympics start this week! Meet the Deakin students representing Australia". Deakin Life. Deakin University. 23 July 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  19. ^ "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.