Kara Marie Lawson (born February 14, 1981 in Alexandria, Virginia) is a professional basketball player for the Sacramento Monarchs of the WNBA. Lawson primarily plays as a shooting guard. She won a gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China.

[edit] Personal

Lawson grew up in the Washington, DC area, and played as a running back and linebacker against boys in the Fairfax County Football League, a youth football league. Kara has two sisters.

Married Damien Barling on April 12, 2008. The couple got her engagement on Tuesday July 3, 2007 at a Kenny Chesney concert.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] High school years

Lawson attended Sidwell Friends School her freshman year, then went to West Springfield High School, where she played on the girls' basketball and soccer teams. Lawson was named a WBCA All-American.^[1] She participated in the 1999 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored twenty points, and earned MVP honors.^[2]

[edit] College years

Lawson attended the University of Tennessee (UT) and played for the Lady Vols basketball team, coached by Pat Summitt. She enrolled in UT's College of Business, and graduated in 2003 with a degree in Finance. Lawson received the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association as the best senior player under 5 ft 8 in (1.7 m).^[3]

[edit] WNBA career

On April 24, 2003, Lawson was selected by the Detroit Shock in the first round (fifth overall) during the annual WNBA Draft. But five days later, the Shock traded Lawson to the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for Kedra Holland-Corn and a 2004 second-round draft pick. Two years later, Lawson would be a key member of the Monarchs 2005 championship team.

In recent years, Lawson has been involved in sports broadcasting during the WNBA off-season, doing commentaries for men's and women's college basketball games and Sacramento Kings games. In addition, Lawson is a sideline reporter for the NBA on ESPN. She was the first female to serve as a nationwide broadcast analyst for an NBA game, when the New Orleans Hornets took on the Washington Wizards in Oklahoma.

[edit] International career

Medal record
Women's Basketball
Competitor for  United States
Olympic Games
Gold	Beijing 2008	Team Competition

On July 10, 2008, Lawson was selected to represent the United States with the USA women's national basketball team at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. She helped the United States capture the gold medal, and led the team in points (15) during the gold medal game against Australia, going a perfect 5-5 from the field and 4-4 from the free throw line.

Lawson was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009.^[4] The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team will travel to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they compete in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational. ^[4]

[edit] Vital statistics

• Position: Guard
• Height: 5 ft. 8 in. / 1.73 m
• College: University of Tennessee
• Team(s): Sacramento Monarchs (WNBA)

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• WNBA Player Profile