KENT CO., DE - Smyrna High School alumna and New York Liberty Basketball Player Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, was crowned a WNBA Champion on Sunday night.
The New York Liberty is celebrating their WNBA title as they beat the Minnestoa Lynx, 67-62 in overtime, on October 20th. Among the winning team's athletes is Smyrna High School alumna and Delaware native, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.
Laney-Hamilton was born in Clayton, Delaware and played for Smyrna High School's women's basketball team, graduating in 2011. During her time at Smyrna, she was named a McDonald's All-American player, playing in the annual all-star graduate basketball game. She was also honored as a WBCA All-America player.
Following high school, she played four years of college basketball at Rutgers University. USA Basketball notes her as a 2015 AP All-American honorable mention, All-Big Ten Conference first team, All-Met first team, All-American Athletic Conference second team, and Big East Conference All-Freshman Team.
Laney-Hamilton was drafted into the WNBA in 2015 by Chicago Sky with a 17th overall pick and continued to play 3 seasons with the team. She also played single seasons on Indiana Fever, Connecticut Sun, and Atlanta Dream.
In 2021, Laney-Hamilton signed with New York Liberty as a Forward/Guard, and has just wrapped up her fourth season with the team. This was her 8th year playing for the WNBA.