Penny Taylor-Gil

Medal record
Women's Basketball
Competitor for  Australia
Olympic Games
Silver	2004 Athens	National team
Silver	2008 Beijing	National team
World Championship
Gold	2006 Brazil	National team

Penny Taylor (born Penelope Jane Taylor on May 24, 1981 in Melbourne, Victoria) is an Australian professional basketball player. She used to play for the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA. In September 2006, she led the Australian Women's Basketball team (the Opals) to a gold medal at the World Championships, winning tournament MVP honours ahead of teammate Lauren Jackson. She joined Fenerbahçe in 2009.

Personal

Taylor was born to parents Michael Taylor and Denna Noble. She has a younger brother named Phillip and a older sister named Heather. Penny attended Upwey High School in Victoria.

In December 2005, she married Rodrigo Rodriguez Gil, a Brazilian volleyball player, in Schio, Italy. The pair met in Italy, where Taylor had played basketball, and Gil volleyball. Taylor has once stated that the only language they could both communicate with was Italian, but have since learned sufficient English and Portuguese to communicate with the other's family.

WNBL career

Taylor played for Dandenong Rangers in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) from 1998 to 2002. She led the league in scoring with 25.5 points per game and steals with 2.5 steals per game during the 2000-01 season.

WNBA career

She was selected by the Cleveland Rockers in the first round (11th overall) during the annual WNBA Draft in April 20, 2001. She starred for the Rockers for three seasons.

In January 2004, the WNBA held a dispersal draft, where the league's existing teams selected former players from the Rockers team. Taylor was selected as the first overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury.

In July 2007 she was chosen as a reserve for the WNBA All Star game, her 2nd appearance.

On September 16 2007, Penny Taylor along with Diana Taurasi led the Phoenix Mercury to the WNBA championship defeating the Detroit Shock in the final game 5 of the finals, 108 - 92, they became the first team to end out a finals series at an away venue in the WNBA.

Taylor sat out most of the 2009 season after having ankle surgery but returned to the Mercury mid-season and averaged 10.7 points off the bench. The Mercury went on to win the WNBA Championship that year, beating the Indiana Fever 3 games to 2, with Taylor making 2 clutch free throws down the stretch to help clinch the decisive game 94-86.

International basketball

Taylor played for the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) during 1997-98.

She was named the WNBL's "Most Valuable Player" during the 2000-01 season and was selected to the WNBL All-Star Five team. She was also a member of the 1999 WNBL championship team.

In the 2004 Summer Olympics, Taylor was a member of the Australian women's basketball team that won the silver medal.

On September 23, 2006, Taylor was a member of the Australian women's basketball team that won the title of 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, and was again named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the championship.

Vital statistics

• Position: Forward
• Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
• Weight:75 kg
• Team(s): Phoenix Mercury, Cleveland Rockers (WNBA)
• Team(s): Famila Schio, La Spezia (Italian A-League)
• Team(s): UMMC Ekaterinberg, Russian Superleague (Euroleague)
• Age at start of games:17

External links

• WNBA Player Profile