Sophia L. Witherspoon (born July 6, 1969) is a former American college and professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who was a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for seven seasons in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Natio ...

(WNBA). Witherspoon played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and was selected in the second round of the 1997 WNBA Draft. She played professionally for the

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as part of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was f ...

Portland Fire The Portland Fire were a professional basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) based in Portland, Oregon that joined the league in 2000 as the counterpart to the National Basketball Association, NBA’s Portland Trail B ...

and

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...

of the WNBA.

Early years

Witherspoon was born in

Fort Pierce, Florida Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Suns ...

. Her older brother introduced her to basketball when she was 6 years old. She attended Fort Pierce Central High School, where she was a standout high school basketball player for the Fort Pierce Central Cobras.

College career

Witherspoon accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where she played for coach Carol Ross's

Florida Gators women's basketball The Florida Gators women's basketball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of basketball. The Gators compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference ( ...

team from 1988 to 1991. In three seasons as a Gator, she scored 1,381 points, made 445 rebounds, and was a first-team All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) selection in 1991. She graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in health and human performance in 1991, and was inducted into the

University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence ...

as a "Gator Great" in 2005. In her honor, the Florida Office of Student Life awards the Sophia Witherspoon Award for Overall Excellence each semester to two Gator athletes "who exemplify the positive attitude and strong work ethic in the classroom that they display on the playing field."

Florida statistics

Source

USA Basketball

Witherspoon was named to the USA team for the 1993

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

competition in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

. The team had a 6–2 record and won the bronze medal. Witherspoon averaged 1.8 points per game.

Professional career

The New York Liberty selected Witherspoon in the second round (seventh pick overall) of the 1997 WNBA Draft. She played for the Liberty from 1997 to 2000, the Portland Fire from 2000 to 2001, and the Los Angeles Sparks from 2001 to 2003.Women's National Basketball Association, Player Files
Sophia Witherspoon
. Retrieved May 24, 2010.

References

External links

Sophia Witherspoon
– Official WNBA player profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Witherspoon, Sophia 1969 births Living people American women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Hungary American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Turkey Basketball players from Florida Florida Gators women's basketball players Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players Los Angeles Sparks players New York Liberty draft picks New York Liberty players Portland Fire players Universiade bronze medalists for the United States Universiade medalists in basketball Guards (basketball) Medalists at the 1993 Summer Universiade