Kara Lawson

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.

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 12th, 2008. They got engaged on Tuesday July 3, 2007 at a Kenny Chesney concert.

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.

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.

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 New Orleans took on the Washington Wizards in Oklahoma.

Vital statistics

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

External links

* [http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/kara_lawson/index.html WNBA Player Profile]