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- Lauren began dunking during her first season in Canberra she was 18. Thanks to a combination of knee, shin and foot injuries, she doubts she could dunk in a WNBA game.
- Lauren wears number 15 in honor of her mom, who wore the same number when she payed. Her mother, who went by Maree Bennie before meeting Lauren’s dad, still holds several SEC records, including season marks for rebounds and points, and for career scoring average.
- Lauren turned down $110,000 to play in Brazil during 2000.
- During the 2001 WNBL season, Lauren changed her hair style, hair color, or both, for each game.
- Lauren scored 15 or more in 27 straight games in 2003, falling two short of Cynthia Cooper’s league record.
- After the 2003 season, Lauren accepted $220,000 to play for a Russian team for one tournament series.
- The Storm’s 2004 WNBA championship marked the first time in 25 years a Seattle team had won a pro sports title.
- Lauren was the WNBA’s first international MVP, as well as its youngest MVP.
- Lauren threw herself a 'Rocky Horror"-themed 21st birthday party, and attended dressed as Dr. Frankenfurter. She wore seven-inch heels for the occasion, giving her the appearance of being seven feet tall.
- Australians love to give nicknames. When Lauren became an international star, fans dubbed her “Loz.”
- Lauren’s favorite actor is Sean Connery. Her favorite athlete is Muhammad Ali. She has a crush on Heath Ledger.
- The Chinese character tattooed on Lauren’s midriff means “to excel.”
- Before Lauren came along, Australia’s basketball darling was Andrew Gaze, who starred in college for Seton Hall and played a handful of games in the NBA. The country’s most successful NBA player was center Luc Longley, a member of the world champion Chicago Bulls in the 1990s.
- Despite being very sharp and highly analytical, Lauren admits to having been a lousy student at AIS—an odd admission for a self-professed perfectionist. She couldn’t wait for classes to end and basketball to begin, and left school as soon as she was able to. Her brother, Ross, was just the opposite. A nice 6-8 player, he chose to focus on his education and was a superb student.
- Lauren is convinced that if she ever gets a chance to compete on "Survivor,: she would win.
- In 1999, Lauren’s father announced he could no longer play basketball because of a bad knee. Lauren is suspicious of the timing. She had never beaten him one-on-one, but was getting uncomfortably close.
- In December of 2000, Lauren purchased her own home, in Canberra.
- It takes 20 hours
for Lauren to fly between Seattle and Canberra.
Lauren has a cat named Spotsie. - Lauren says her greatest frustration living in the United States is that it can be difficult to find Fanta orange soda.
- Lauren’s
favorite foods are Tandoori Chicken, Vegemite spread and Violet Crumble
candy.
Cynthia Cooper,
1999 Pro Magazine
Muhammad Ali, autographed
photo
Luc Longley, 1996
Upper Deck