June 4, 2009

Lamar women's basketball coach Larry Tidwell has announced that Monique Whittaker has transferred from Nebraska to Lamar and has enrolled at LU with the start of summer school on Thursday.

The 5-foot-10 guard spent her first two years of college playing for coach Connie Yori at Nebraska, seeing action in 19 games. She totaled 44 career points with a pair of breakout games early in her sophomore campaign, netting a career-high 13 points in the season-opener against Weber State and 10 points a few days later in a win over rival Creighton.

She earned first team all-state honors as a junior and senior at Livingston High School before playing in the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-Star Game.

Whittaker averaged 20.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game for coach Pennee Hall as a senior in 2006-07. She shot 51.4 percent from the floor and knocked down 75.3 percent of her free throws. She added 2.1 assists and 2.3 steals per game in her final high school season. As a junior in 2005-06, Whittaker averaged 20 points and 10 boards per game, after averaging 18 points and eight rebounds per contest as a sophomore.

Whittaker was a nominee for the Wendy's High School Heisman and McDonald's High School All-America honors. She was a Texas Basketball Magazine All-State selection in 2004-05 and a TGCA All-State pick in both 2005-06 and 2006-07. She was the MVP in District 18-4A in both 2005-06 and 2006-07, after being named the district's offensive player of the year as a sophomore in 2004-05. She was a TABC All-Region 3 selection each of her final three years. Off the court, she claimed TABC Academic All-State honors.

Whittaker played on the Houston Hotshots-Gold AAU team coached by Marvin Morris. In 2004-05, the Hotshots won the BCI Nationals and took second at AAU Nationals. In 2005-06, they claimed fifth at AAU Nationals.

In addition to earning four letters in basketball, Whittaker earned three letters in cross country, two in volleyball, one in soccer and one in track and field.