Amy Marie Sanders (born 5 June 1983) is an American college and professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player. After playing for the

Hawaii Rainbow Wahine The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wāhine are the athletic teams that represent the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UH), in Honolulu, Hawaii. The UH athletics program is a member of the Big West Conference in most sports and competes a ...

, she moved to the Umeå Comets in the Swedish Damligan before signing with the

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. T ...

of the WNBA for the 2007 season. The next year she signed a training camp contract with the

Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009. They played their home games at ARCO Arena. The Mona ...

, but she subsequently returned to

FIBA Europe FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all 50 national European basketball federations. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA Eur ...

basketball, playing for AZS Poznań in the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

PLKK Basket Liga Kobiet (BLK), currently known for sponsorship reasons as Energa Basket Liga Kobiet (EBLK; 2001–2013 Polska Liga Koszykówki Kobiet, PLKK) is a professional women's club basketball league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highe ...

and Leipzig Eagles in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

College career

Sanders played youth basketball for the Orange County Spirit club. She had also been decorated for her performances for Mater Dei High School. In 2002, she joined

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

in preference to several other interested Universities. In her four-year varsity career, Sanders was twice the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine's top-pointscorer. In April 2005 she was voted the top player at the team's annual banquet. When Sanders played her last game for the Rainbow Wahine in February 2006,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Jim Bolla James Daniel Bolla Jr. (March 27, 1952October 21, 2022) was an American college basketball coach. He was the head women's basketball coach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas from 1982 to 1996, with his 300 games won the most in the team's ...

described her as: "one of the hardest working players I've had in my years of coaching."

Hawai'i statistics

Source

Club career

After the expiration of her college eligibility, Sanders was overlooked at the

2006 WNBA draft On November 16, 2005, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) held an expansion draft for the Chicago Sky. It was the first expansion draft since the 2000 season, when the WNBA welcomed the Miami Sol, Portland Fire, Indiana Fever, an ...

. She signed for Sweden's Umeå Comets in September 2006 on a full–time professional contract. It was reported that she proved a successful acquisition for the team, but she left during the Christmas break in December to complete her studies in the United States. Sanders was called into the training camp of reigning WNBA champions Detroit Shock in April 2007. In the

2007 WNBA season The 2007 WNBA Season was the Women's National Basketball Association's 11th season. On January 3, 2007 The Charlotte Sting folded. Three months later on April 4, the WNBA held their annual draft in Cleveland, Ohio. Lindsey Harding of Duke Unive ...

she featured in six games for the Shock—averaging one and a half minutes in each—before being waived from the team on July 2, 2007. In January 2008 Sanders agreed a deal with Polish outfit AZS Poznań and she arrived the following month, to considerable local media attention. After playing seven PLKK matches, for an average of nine points, she departed AZS Poznań by mutual consent in March 2008. Sanders returned to the WNBA after being called into the Sacramento Monarchs' pre–season training camp as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, but she was waived 11 days later without playing in a competitive game. Having left basketball in summer 2008, Sanders was later tempted out of retirement to help financially troubled German Bundesliga club Leipzig Eagles. She made her debut in January 2010 against SV Halle and played for free during her time in Germany. When the team were relegated in March and the American coach Ritz Ingram left, Sanders and other senior players also made an exit.

Personal life

Sanders was born in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...

to Kim and Gary Sanders. She has one elder brother, Matthew, who is the lead vocalist of heavy metal band

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance ...

under the stage name

M. Shadows Matthew Charles Sanders (born July 31, 1981), known by his stage name M. Shadows, is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and a founding member of heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold. In 2017, Shadows was voted third in th ...

References

External links

*Amy Sanders career statistics a
Basketball-Reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanders, Amy 1983 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Germany American expatriate basketball people in Poland American expatriate basketball people in Sweden American women's basketball players Detroit Shock players Hawaii Rainbow Wahine basketball players Shooting guards Sportspeople from Huntington Beach, California Basketball players from Orange County, California Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players Mater Dei High School (Santa Ana, California) alumni