Kristi Harrower (born 4 March 1975) is an Australian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player. She was a decorated player with the Australian Opals, winning three silver medals and one bronze medal at four

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

. She played in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA) from 1998 to 2005 for the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...

and

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

Early life

Harrower hometown is

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is an Australian city in north-central Victoria. The city is located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2022, Bendigo has a popula ...

Playing career

Early years and profile

Harrower played as a

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

was listed as and . Harrower attended the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

on a scholarship in 1992 and 1993. At the 1994 Australian Under-20 national championships, Harrower won the Bob Staunton Award.

Professional

Harrower played professional basketball for over twenty years.

WNBA

Harrower entered the WNBA as an undrafted player. Her first team she played with was the

, whom she signed with before the start of the 1998 season. In her two seasons with the team, she played in 62 games. She joined the

in 2000 along with Mercury players Marlies Askamp and Angela Aycock as part of a trade that saw

Tonya Edwards Tonya LaRay Edwards (born March 13, 1968) is an American retired professional basketball player born in Flint, Michigan, who was most recently an assistant coach of the Chicago Sky in the WNBA. She was previously head coach of the Alcorn State ...

and Trisha Fallon go from Minnesota to Phoenix. She played for the Lynx in 2003, where she averaged 2.8 points and 2.3 assists per game. She ended her Lynx career in 2005 having played 96 games while averaging of 3.8 ppg, 2.4 apg and 1.8 rpg. In 2009, Harrower was playing for the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA. She missed three games that season in order to attend her grandmother's funeral in Australia.

WNBL

Harrower's 18-year WNBL career began in 1991. After 10 years in the league, she was absent for seven years (2001–2007) before returning in 2008 and continued until retirement. Harrower was league MVP once (2009–10) and was selected seven times for the

WNBL All-Star Five The All-WNBL Team is an annual Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) honour bestowed on the best performing players in the league following every WNBL season. From 1988 to 2018–19, the honour was known as the All-Star Five. As of 2020, it is ...

. She played on championship teams in 1994 with the

Adelaide Lightning The Adelaide Lightning are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The club is based in the city of Adelaide, South Australia, and will play their home games at the State Basketball ...

, and 2012–13 and 2013–14 with the Bendigo Spirit. In 2013, she was the WNBL Defensive Player of the Year. Harrower played for the Bendigo Spirit in the 2008–09 season and the 2009–10 season, where she was the WNBL's MVP. She resigned with the Spirit in October 2009. With the Spirit in the 2010–11 season, she had a three-point shooting percentage of 23%. She played injured most of the season, with problems in her shoulder and knee. She averaged 13.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game. She was the team's general manager that year. She again played for the Spirit in 2011–12. Her father, Bernie Harrower, was the team's coach. In January 2012, she made a clutch shot for her team that helped them beat Canberra. Harrower led the Spirit to league titles in 2013 and 2014. For the 2014–15 season, Harrower became an assistant coach for the Bendigo Spirit, but also returned as a player after injuries to guard Kelly Wilson prevented her from playing in the first part of the season. On 7 January 2015, Harrower announced her retirement from the WNBL, also stating that she was 16 weeks pregnant.

Europe

In 2006, Harrower played for Valenciennes in France.

National team

Harrower was a member of the

Australia women's national basketball team The Australia women's national basketball team, nicknamed the Opals after the brightly coloured gemstone common to the country, represents Australia in international basketball. From 1994 onwards, the Opals have been consistently competitive ...

and has been described as the national team's pocket dynamo. She was a member of the 1998 Australian Senior Women's Team that won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Germany. She was a member of the 1999 Australian senior women's team. She was a member of the 2000 Summer Olympics team that won a silver medal. Going into the Olympics, her team was ranked third in the world. In 2002, she was a member of the Australian Senior Women's Team that won a silver medal in the World Championships in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. She was a member of the Australian senior team that won a silver medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. She played in eight games at the 2004 Games, where she averaged 8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. Harrower was a member of the 2005 Opals. In 2006, she was a member of the Australian women's senior team that won a gold medal at the World Championships in Brazil. In March 2007, she was named to the national team what would prepare for the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2008, she did not participate in the Good Luck Beijing 2008 held in China in the lead up to the Olympics because of a commitment to her European club. She was a member of the 2008 Summer Olympics Australian women's team that won a silver medal at the Olympics. In June 2010, Harrower was viewed by national team coach Carrie Graf as one of a quartet of strong players that would represent Australia in a tour of China, the United States and Europe in the next few months. In July 2010, she participated in a four-day training camp and one game test match against the United States in Connecticut. In 2010, she participated in the Salamanca Invitational Basketball Tournament in Spain. Her team beat Spain 85–64. They also beat the United States. She missed the game against Spain because she injured her ankle. In 2010, she was a member of the senior women's national team that competed at the World Championships in the Czech Republic. She missed a three-game test series against China in Queensland in July 2011 because of an injury. In July 2011, she participated in the Olympic qualification competition. She was returning to the team following an injury. Harrower was named to the 2012 Australia women's national basketball team. In February 2012, she was named to a short list of 24 eligible players to represent Australia at the Olympics. She was scheduled to participate in the national team training camp held from 14 to 18 May 2012 at the Australian Institute of Sport. She made the 2012 Olympic Squad cut down to 14 players, and won the bronze medal.

Coaching career

NBL1

In December 2018, Harrower joined the Diamond Valley Eagles women's team as an assistant coach for the inaugural season of the

NBL1 The NBL1 is a semi-professional basketball league in Australia run by the National Basketball League (NBL). The league consists of five conferences: NBL1 South, NBL1 North, NBL1 Central, NBL1 West and NBL1 East, with each consisting of bot ...

in 2019. In May 2019, Harrower left the Eagles to take up the position of head coach of the

Melbourne Tigers Melbourne United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. United compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Joh ...

women's team for the final 10 games of the NBL1 season. Due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, she was unable to coach the Tigers in 2020 and subsequently stepped down as coach prior to the 2021 season. In 2024, Harrower served as head coach of the Keilor Thunder women's team in the

NBL1 South NBL1 South is a semi-professional basketball league in Victoria (state), Victoria and Tasmania, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2019, Basketball Victoria partnered with the National Basketball League (Australia), ...

. She was named NBL1 South Coach of the Year. She re-signed with Keilor for the 2025 season.

WNBL

In July 2022, Harrower was appointed an assistant coach of the

Melbourne Boomers Geelong United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Geelong, Victoria. United compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Geelong Arena. Beginning as the Bulleen Boomers in 1984, the ...

ahead of the

2022–23 WNBL season The 2022–23 WNBL season is the 43rd season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Melbourne Boomers were the defending champions, but were defeated in the Semi-Finals by Southside. The Townsville Fire won their fourth champion ...

. She continued as Boomers assistant in 2023–24. In June 2024, Harrower was appointed head coach of the

Southside Flyers The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship pur ...

ahead of the

2024–25 WNBL season The 2024–25 WNBL season was the 45th season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Southside Flyers were the defending champions, but they failed to qualify for Finals this season. The Bendigo Spirit won their third champions ...

National team

Harrower served as an assistant coach of the Australian Opals at the 2023 FIBA Asia Cup.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, align="left" , Phoenix , 30 , , 0 , , 11.8 , , .365 , , .344 , , .750 , , 0.7 , , 1.7 , , 0.5 , , 0.1 , , 1.0 , , 2.3 , - , align="left" ,

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, align="left" , Phoenix , 32 , , 3 , , 20.8 , , .364 , , .279 , , .808 , , 2.0 , , 3.0 , , 0.8 , , 0.1 , , 1.4 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" ,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

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Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, 4 , , 1 , , 18.0 , , .467 , , .500 , , 1.000 , , 1.0 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.0 , , 0.8 , , 5.3 , - , align="left" ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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, 27 , , 6 , , 17.8 , , .389 , , .333 , , .400 , , 1.7 , , 2.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 3.6 , - , align="left" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

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, 31 , , 0 , , 16.1 , , .368 , , .372 , , .615 , , 1.3 , , 2.3 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 1.3 , , 2.8 , - , align="left" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

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, 34 , , 34 , , 24.5 , , .351 , , .324 , , .778 , , 2.4 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 1.6 , , 4.6 , - , align="left" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 31 , , 26 , , 16.8 , , .360 , , .205 , , .818 , , 1.8 , , 2.2 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.9 , , 3.1 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 7 years, 3 teams , 189 , , 70 , , 18.1 , , .367 , , .316 , , .760 , , 1.7 , , 2.4 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 1.2 , , 3.6

Playoffs

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, align="left" , Phoenix , 6 , , 0 , , 13.0 , , .600 , , .429 , , .000 , , 1.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.2 , , 0.7 , , 4.5 , - , align="left" ,

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, 3 , , 0 , , 21.7 , , .364 , , .286 , , .500 , , 2.3 , , 1.7 , , 0.3 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 3.7 , - , align="left" ,

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, 5 , , 2 , , 11.8 , , .500 , , .333 , , .000 , , 0.2 , , 2.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.0 , , 0.8 , , 2.6 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 3 years, 3 teams , 14 , , 2 , , 14.4 , , .512 , , .353 , , .500 , , 1.0 , , 1.6 , , 0.6 , , 0.1 , , 0.8 , , 3.6

References

External links

Official websiteBasketball Australia profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrower, Kristi 1975 births Living people Adelaide Lightning players Australian expatriate basketball people in the United States Australian Institute of Sport basketball (WNBL) players Australian women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Basketball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Bendigo Spirit players Los Angeles Sparks players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Minnesota Lynx players Olympic basketball players for Australia Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in basketball Olympic silver medalists for Australia Sportspeople from Bendigo Phoenix Mercury players Point guards Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players Sportswomen from Victoria (state) Australian expatriate basketball people in France Australian expatriate basketball people in Germany Australian expatriate basketball people in Russia 21st-century Australian sportswomen

Early life

Playing career

Early years and profile

Professional

WNBA

WNBL

Europe

National team

Coaching career

NBL1

WNBL

National team

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links