Jump to content

Jae Kingi-Cross

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jae Kingi-Cross
Personal information
Birth nameJae Monique Kingi
Born (1976-01-20) 20 January 1976 (age 49)[1]
Wellington, New Zealand
Medal record
Women's Basketball
Representing  Australia
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2002 China Team Competition
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2006 Melbourne Team Competition

Jae Monique Kingi-Cross (née Kingi; 20 January 1976) is a New Zealand-born Australian former basketball player and coach. She played for the Detroit Shock, Houston Comets, Phoenix Mercury, and San Antonio Silver Stars of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Kingi-Cross was the first player of Māori descent to be selected in the WNBA draft.

Professional career

[edit]

In the domestic Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), Kingi-Cross played 192 games for the Australian Institute of Sport and the Adelaide Lightning.[2][3] Kingi-Cross was also twice named to the WNBL All-Star Five, in seasons 2000/01 and 2001/02.[4]

In 2001, Kingi-Cross moved to the United States to play in the Women's National Basketball Association where she was selected in the second round (pick 22 overall) of the 2001 WNBA draft by the Detroit Shock.[5] Kingi-Cross also played with the Phoenix Mercury (2004), the San Antonio Silver Stars (2006) and the Houston Comets (2007).[6][7][8] Entering the 2006 World Championship held in Brazil, Kingi-Cross was the only Australian playing in the WNBA who was not selected in the Opals team.[9]

National team career

[edit]

Kingi-Cross was a member of the Australia women's national basketball team for 12 years, from 1995-2006 and was in the squad that won a bronze medal at the 2002 World Championships held in China.[10][11] Pregnancy kept Kingi-Cross out of the 2004 Olympic squad that went to Athens.[12]

Coaching career

[edit]

Kingi-Cross spent five seasons as an assistant coach and two seasons as associate head coach with the Rice Owls women's basketball team. She served as head coach of the St. Thomas Celts women's basketball team from 2015-2023.[13]

Personal life

[edit]

In 2008, she was inducted into her home town of Canberra's Sports Hall of Fame.[14] Kingi-Cross and her husband, Tom Cross, live in Texas with their four daughters.[10]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ FIBA Archive. Player Search: Jae Monique Kingi. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  2. ^ Women's National Basketball League. All-time Playing Roster Archived 15 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  3. ^ Players with 100 or more career games Archived 17 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Women's National Basketball League. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  4. ^ All Star Five Archived 15 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Women's National Basketball League. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  5. ^ All-Time WNBA Draft List Archived 12 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  6. ^ Silver Stars Sign Jae Kingi-Cross. San Antonio Silver Stars. News (13 March 2006). Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  7. ^ Opals suit up for WNBA with Beijing on their minds. The Sydney Morning Herald (17 May 2007). Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  8. ^ Women's National Basketball Association. Player Profile: Jae Kingi-Cross Archived 16 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  9. ^ Howell, Stephen (9 August 2006). Opals strengthen bid to topple US giants. The Age. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
  10. ^ a b Jae Cross (2008) Basketball. University of the Sunshine Coast: Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  11. ^ FIBA Archive. 2002 World Championship for Women. Final Standings. Retrieved 2012-09-10.
  12. ^ Howell, Stephen (16 March 2006). Opal a gem of an import. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  13. ^ "Jae Cross Named Women's Basketball Coach". ustcelts.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2025. Retrieved 30 April 2025.
  14. ^ Rice Owls: Women's Basketball. Biography: Jae Cross. Retrieved 2012-09-12.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jae_Kingi-Cross&oldid=1288043533"