Ep. 16 Whitney Bays | Basketball – The 5th Quarter Podcast with Sandy Adams

Real talk with Whitney Bays: We chat about life in West Virginia and her early start in basketball, playing pickup ball with the guys and her dream of playing in the WNBA. We talk injuries, the triple losses and her comeback story of redemption at Purdue and later in Huntington WV. The light of her life, the road overseas and that defining moment of despair that changed her life and eventually led her to Memphis.rom the bluffs of the mighty Mississippi.

Bays comes to Memphis after spending last season with Simmons at Gardner-Webb where she helped lead the team to a 29-5 overall record and a perfect 21-0 in Big South play. Along with an unblemished mark in conference play, GWU would record a 13-0 record on their home court, the 1st team in the program’s history to do so.

“Whitney brings a plethora of playing experience, both collegiate and professionally, and her ability to connect with players on the court and developing our forward position was quickly felt,” said Simmons. “She is a mom who is motivated by winning and helping to inspire young women with her story and leading by example. We are excited to add Whitney and Nyla, her daughter, to our Tiger family.”

Bays worked to develop four All-Conference selections as well as the Big South’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

Prior to Gardner-Webb, Bays spent two seasons as an assistant coach at her alma mater, Huntington High School, where she helped lead the team to back-to-back West Virginia State Titles. During her time with the Highlanders, Bays saw the team to a 40-2 overall record and helped to develop the MSAC Player of the Year and West Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year Dionna Gray.

Bays was named as the 2009 West Virginia Player of the Year after leading Huntington High School to three consecutive state final appearances. Ranked as the No.13 player during the 2009-10 class, Bays surpassed 1,000 career points and was a two-time Gatorade West Virginia Player of the Year while being named as a three-time All-State performer and as the 2009 MSAC Player of the Year.

Following two seasons at Maryland, Bays was a standout player for Purdue from 2013-15 where she was a two-time All-Big Ten Second Team honoree and was named as the league’s Sixth Man Player of the Year in 2014. Bays would go on to etch her name in the Boilermaker’s record books with the top rebounding average in school history (8.9 per game) and ranking third all-time with 23 career double-doubles. In her senior season, Bays would be ranked in the top-10 in the Big Ten in scoring, rebounding and steals.

Bays played professionally in multiple different countries (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Russia and Puerto Rico for three seasons) becoming a top player in each league – specifically in Puerto Rico where she was named the League MVP and led her team to a League Championship.

Bays earned degrees in sociology and business from Purdue in 2015.

Whitney Bays is an Assistant Coach – Memphis Women’s Basketball.

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