Jennie Rintala (née Sunnarborg; born 10 July 1990) is an American-Australian professional basketball player.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 July 1990 Osseo, Minnesota |
| Nationality | American / Australian |
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Osseo (Osseo, Minnesota) |
| College | South Dakota State (2008–2012) |
| WNBA draft | 2012: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2013–present |
| Position | Forward |
| Career history | |
| 2013–2014 | Kalamunda Eastern Suns |
| 2015 | Rhein-Main Baskets |
| 2017–2019 | Kalamunda Eastern Suns |
| 2018 | Résidence Walferdange |
| 2019 | Adelaide Lightning |
| 2020; 2022 | Bendigo Spirit |
| 2021–2022 | West Adelaide Bearcats |
| 2023–2024 | Diamond Valley Eagles |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
College
editRintala played college basketball at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota, playing with the Jackrabbits in the Summit League of NCAA Division I.[1]
Statistics
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | South Dakota State | 24 | 0 | 8.7 | .429 | .000 | .706 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 3.3 |
| 2009–10 | South Dakota State | 33 | 13 | 16.5 | .455 | .385 | .759 | 4.1 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 2.0 | 7.6 |
| 2010–11 | South Dakota State | 33 | 33 | 24.0 | .509 | .222 | .684 | 4.3 | 1.4 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 2.8 | 13.0 |
| 2011–12 | South Dakota State | 33 | 33 | 25.5 | .439 | .389 | .806 | 6.2 | 1.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 2.0 | 14.4 |
| Career | 123 | 79 | 19.4 | .467 | .331 | .753 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 10.0 |
Career
editAustralia
editIn 2013, Rintala was signed by the Kalamunda Eastern Suns to play in Western Australia's State Basketball League.[2] She had a very successful debut in the SBL, leading the Suns to their first grand final and taking home the club MVP award for the 2013 season.[3] Rintala would remain with the Suns for the 2014 season.
In 2017, Rintala played a third season with the Suns. She went on to spend the 2017–18 WNBL season training with the Perth Lynx.[4] She continued on with the Suns in 2018 and 2019.
In October 2019, Rintala signed with the Adelaide Lightning for the start of the 2019–20 WNBL season as a replacement for injured import Crystal Langhorne.[5][6] Rintala played five games for the Lightning between 18 October and 22 November.[7]
In September 2020, Rintala signed with the Bendigo Spirit for the 2020 WNBL Hub season in Queensland. She joined the team as a local after becoming a naturalised Australian.[8][9] In 13 games, she averaged 4.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.[7]
Rintala joined the West Adelaide Bearcats of the NBL1 Central for the 2021 season.[10]
In February 2022, Rintala re-joined the Spirit for the rest of the 2021–22 WNBL season.[11] She then re-joined the Bearcats for the 2022 NBL1 Central season and helped the team win the championship.[7]
Rintala joined the Diamond Valley Eagles of the NBL1 South for the 2023 season.[7] She returned to the Eagles for the 2024 season.[7]
Europe
editIn January 2015, Rintala joined Rhein-Main Baskets if the German DBBL.[12] She left the team after playing six games for the team.[7]
In January 2018, Rintala joined Résidence Walferdange in Luxembourg, competing in the Nationale 1 league. In 10 games, she averaged 18.6 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Jennie Sunnarborg - 2011-12 - Women's Basketball - South Dakota State University Athletics". gojacks.com.
- ^ "Osseo graduate lives dream of playing professional basketball". hometownsource.com. 4 April 2013.
- ^ "New coach Knowles turns Suns onto up-tempo game style". WA State Basketball League.
- ^ "JOB AHEAD OF SUNS BUT RINTALA PROUD TO CALL KALAMUNDA HOME". sbl.asn.au.
- ^ "Jennie joins in as Crystal sidelined". botinagy.com.
- ^ "Adelaide Lightning". Facebook.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Jennie Rintala, Basketball Player, News, Stats - australiabasket". Eurobasket LLC. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ Bendigo (8 September 2020). "AUSSIE SPIRIT FOR RINTALA". Bendigo Spirit. wnbl.basketball.
- ^ "Bendigo Spirit sign naturalised Australian Jennie Rintala". bendigoadvertiser.com.au. 9 September 2020.
- ^ "Rintala signs with Bearcats for NBL1 Central". nbl1.com.au. 25 January 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ "Rintala returns to Bendigo - Bendigo Spirit". Bendigo Spirit. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ "Ladehemmungen verhinderten Aufholjagd der Baskets" (in German). rhein-main-baskets.de.