Kayla Pedersen

Kayla Danielle Pedersen (born April 14, 1989) is an American basketball forward who is currently a free agent. She was selected 7th overall in the 2011 WNBA draft. She was selected for the 2006 State Farm Holiday Classic all-tournament as a senior at Red Mountain High School in Arizona. After attending high school she went to Stanford University, where she had a highly successful career. She has a brother who is younger "Kyle Pedersen" who is a successful Science teacher at Gilbert HighSchool.

Kayla Pedersen
Free agent
PositionForward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1989-04-14) April 14, 1989
Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolRed Mountain (Mesa, Arizona)
CollegeStanford (2007–2011)
WNBA draft2011: 1st round, 7th overall pick
Selected by the Tulsa Shock
Playing career2011–present
Career history
2011–2013Tulsa Shock
2013–2020Connecticut Sun
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals
Representing  United States
U18 and U19
Gold medal – first place2006 U18 Colorado SpringsTeam Competition
Gold medal – first place2007 U19 BratislavaTeam Competition
World University Games
Gold medal – first place2009 Belgrade Team Competition

Career

High school

Pedersen went to Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Arizona. She led her team to a 5A-DI state title as a senior. She set records for 5A with 2,611 points,[1] 1,444 rebounds, 434 assists and 304 blocks.

USA Basketball

Pedersen was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The event was held in July 2006, when the USA team defeated Canada to win the championship. Pederson has 12 rebounds in the game against Brazil. She averaged 6.0 points per game over the course of the event.[2]

Pedersen continued as a member of the USA Women's U19 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Championship in Bratislava, Slovakia. The event was held in July and August 2007, when the USA team defeated Sweden to win the championship. She averaged 2.8 points per game.[3]

Pedersen was named a member of the team representing the USA at the 2009 World University Games held in Belgrade, Serbia. The team won all seven games to earn the gold medal. Pedersen averaged 5.1 points per game, and was the team's third leading rebounder, with 6.4 per game.[4]

In 2010, she led the NCAA in scoring, assists, and rebounds. She was a top 10 draft prospect.

Stanford

At Stanford, Pedersen was a huge contributor; Tara VanDerveer (the coach at Stanford) has complimented her many times. In her freshman year, the team reached the final four, Pedersen being a huge contributor, averaging 12.6 points per game. She also averaged 8.4 rebounds a game. She was named Pac-10 freshman of the year.[5] She also set a Stanford freshman record by starting all 39 games. They eventually lost to UConn (Connecticut) in the final four, but Pedersen managed 17 points and 7 rebounds and received much praise from the fans. During her remaining years in college, the Cardinal reached the final four every single year, with Pedersen being a consistent stand-out contributor. UConn continued to be a huge barrier to success for them, but Stanford finally beat them on December 30, 2010. However, they then went on to lose in the final four to Texas A&M. Pedersen has set Stanford's career record in both games (150) and minutes played (4,762), and she is seventh in the all-time points list (1,941 points).[5]

WNBA

Pedersen was selected 7th overall in the 2011 WNBA draft by Tulsa Shock.[6][7] Former head coach, Nolan Richardson, once called her the "female Larry Bird-type player".[8][9]

Pedersen was traded to the Connecticut Sun for a 2nd Round Pick in the 2014 WNBA draft on June 20, 2013.

Stanford statistics

Source[10]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2007-08 Stanford 39 492 49.7 35.5 71.3 8.4 1.6 0.8 0.6 12.6
2008-09 Stanford 38 410 43.3 34.0 67.3 7.8 2.2 0.9 0.6 10.8
2009-10 Stanford 38 599 45.9 37.7 82.3 9.5 2.7 0.6 0.4 15.8
2010-11 Stanford 35 440 46.6 26.2 78.3 8.0 3.5 1.0 0.8 12.6
Career Stanford 150 1941 46.4 33.3 75.7 8.4 2.5 0.8 0.6 12.9

Personal

Pedersen was born in Flint, Michigan, on April 14, 1989, to Kelli and Gary Pedersen.[11] Her father played basketball at Saint Mary's in California.[1] Her family later moved to Fountain Hills, Arizona, when she was six years old,[12] where she still resides. She has one younger brother, Kyle.[13]

References
  1. "2010 USA Basketball Women's Select Team" (PDF). USA Basketball. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  2. "Sixth Women's Fiba Americas U18 Championship For Women -- 2006". USA Basketball. November 29, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  3. "Seventh FIBA Women's U19 World Championship -- 2007". USA Basketball. February 20, 2014. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  4. "Twenty-Fifth World University Games -- 2009". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  5. Heller, Mark (April 11, 2011). "Kayla Pederson drafted in first round of WNBA draft". East Valley Tribune. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  6. 2011 WNBA Draft board
  7. "Shock Selects Kayla Pedersen From Stanford With Seventh Overall Pick". wnba.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  8. "Top 10 Material". The Daily Axe. April 12, 2011. Archived from the original on March 30, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  9. "Coach Nolan Richardson Reviews the 2011 WNBA Draft". WNBA. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  10. "NCAA® Career Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
  11. Woodyard, Eric (April 29, 2011). "WNBA Draft pick, Kayla Pedersen, has ties to the Flint Area". Flint Journal. Retrieved August 11, 2011.
  12. Woodyard, Eric (July 11, 2011). "Flint native Kayla Pedersen's return to Arizona is blemished with a loss to the Phoenix Mercury". Flint Journal. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
  13. Voepel, Mechelle. "Versatility is Pedersen's calling card". ESPN. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
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