Episode #27 - Janet Karvonen-Montgomery (MN HS basketball legends series)

The mini-series on Minnesota high school basketball legends
continues with one of the most important girls basketball players
in Minnesota state history.  Janet Karvonen-Montgomery grew
up in the Finnish town of New York Mills and was encouraged and
influenced by her brother to excel at basketball.  She did
just that as she became one of the most accomplished female
athletes in the sport.  Growing up during the Title IX era
Janet excelled on the basketball court bringing notoriety to
girls basketball.  

The MN state high school league didn’t put on a girls basketball
state tournament until 1976, so Janet almost missed out on being
that household name.  Her New York Mills teams won three
consecutive state titles from 1977 – 1979.  She graduated
having a record as a starter of 99 – 5 and was the state’s
all-time leading scorer for boys OR girls.  She went on to
play collegiately at powerhouse programs Old Dominion and
Louisiana Tech.  During her time in college she played
against the likes of Cheryl Miller and attended and played at the
same school as Karl Malone.  She then went into
broadcasting, hosting her own basketball camp here in Minnesota
and ultimately becoming involved in ministry.  

This was a really enjoyable conversation as Janet recalls a lot
of great highlights from her career and we touch on things like
how her and her teammates sold light bulbs to help pay for new
uniforms as well as how to correctly pronounce “sauna”.
 

Enjoy this conversation in The Bare's Den with Minnesota high
school basketball hall of fame member - Janet
Karvonen-Montgomery.