Sophia Witherspoon

Sophia Witherspoon
Personal information
Born	July 6, 1969 (age 55); Fort Pierce, Florida, U.S.
Listed height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Listed weight	145 lb (66 kg)
Career information
High school	Fort Pierce Central (Fort Pierce, Florida)
College	Florida (1988–1991)
WNBA draft	1997: 2nd round, 11th overall pick
	Selected by the New York Liberty
Playing career	1997–2009
Position	Guard
Number	13
Career history
1997–1999	New York Liberty
2000–2001	Portland Fire
2002–2003	Los Angeles Sparks
Career highlights and awards
	WNBA champion (2002); First-team All-SEC (1991);
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Women's basketball
Representing the United States
World University Games

Last updated August 24, 2024

Sophia L. Witherspoon (born July 6, 1969) is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a guard for seven seasons in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Witherspoon played college basketball for the University of Florida, and was selected in the second round of the 1997 WNBA draft. She played professionally for the New York Liberty, Portland Fire and Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.

Early years

Witherspoon was born in Fort Pierce, Florida. 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 University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where she played for coach Carol Ross's Florida Gators women's basketball 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 (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 as a "Gator Great" in 2005.^[1]^[2] 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^[3]

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Year	Team	GP	Points	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1988-89	Florida	29	436	41.6%	26.3%	62.2%	5.7	2.1	1.3	0.5	15.0
1989-90	Florida	28	424	40.7%	22.9%	59.1%	4.4	2.2	1.8	0.5	15.1
1990-91	Florida	28	521	43.9%	38.0%	72.9%	5.7	1.9	2.4	0.7	18.6
TOTALS	Florida	85	1381	41.9%	32.3%	65.5%	5.2	2.1	1.8	0.2	16.2

USA Basketball

Witherspoon was named to the USA team for the 1993 World University Games competition in Buffalo, New York. The team had a 6–2 record and won the bronze medal. Witherspoon averaged 1.8 points per game.^[4]

Professional career

The New York Liberty selected Witherspoon in the second round (11th pick overall) of the 1997 WNBA Draft. Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997 in a 67 - 57 victory over the Sparks where she recorded 6 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.^[5] She played for the Liberty her first three years in the league, being a starter in every game she played during her first two seasons. Witherspoon's minutes and PPG averages for her rookie year were 31.0 MPG and 14.5 PPG. During her second year she averaged 29.9 MPG and 13.8 PPG. However, her minutes diminished in her third season (down to 18.2 MPG) and so did her productivity (down to 8.5 points).

On December 15, 1999, Witherspoon was drafted by the Portland Fire during the Expansion Draft and played for the Fire for two seasons. She would play for the Fire for two seasons, averaging 16.8 points, 3.3 rebounds in the 2000 season, and 12 points, 2.4 rebounds in the 2001 season.

Along with her teammate Nikki Teasley, Witherspoon was traded to the Sparks for Ukari Figgs and Gergana Slavcheva on April 19, 2002.^[6] She officially signed with the Sparks on June 11, 2002 and would make the Finals during her first year with the team. The Sparks defeated the Liberty 2-0 and Witherspoon earned her first and only WNBA Championship.^[7] The Sparks reached the Finals again in 2003 but would be defeated by the Detroit Shock in three games (2-1).

After missing the entire 2003 season, Witherspoon would sign a contract as a free agent with the Charlotte Sting on April 5, 2004^[8] but would be waived by them before as part of the final roster cuts before the season started.^[9]

Due to her stint with the Sting not coming to fruition, Witherspoon's final WNBA game ever ended being Game 3 of the 2003 Finals against Detroit on September 16, 2003. The Sparks lost the game 78 - 83 with Witherspoon playing for three and a half minutes and only recording two missed 3-point attempts and no other stats.^[10]

WNBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
TO	Turnovers per game	FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
Bold	Career best	°	League leader

Regular season


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
1997	New York	28	28	31.0	40.6	34.9	74.8	3.0	2.3	1.8	0.3	2.8	14.5
1998	New York	30	30	29.9	40.1	34.4	78.6	3.0	1.9	1.3	0.1	2.4	13.8
1999	New York	32	23	18.2	39.6	35.9	71.0	1.5	1.2	1.0	0.1	1.5	8.5
2000	Portland	32	32	33.2	38.4	36.8	87.1	3.3	2.1	1.2	0.3	2.8	16.8
2001	Portland	31	30	27.8	31.6	31.3	84.9	2.4	1.7	1.0	0.3	2.3	12.0
2002	Los Angeles	31	1	11.5	41.5	41.8	76.1	0.9	0.9	0.4	0.1	0.7	5.2
2003	Los Angeles	23	2	10.2	32.1	34.5	85.7	0.8	0.2	0.3	0.0	0.3	2.4
Career	7 years, 3 teams	207	146	23.5	38.0	35.1	80.2	2.2	1.5	1.0	0.1	1.9	10.7

Playoffs


Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	TO	PPG
1997	New York	2	2	32.5	27.8	40.0	0.0	5.0	2.5	1.5	1.0	2.5	6.0
1999	New York	6	0	14.3	44.7	40.0	63.6	2.2	0.3	0.7	0.0	1.3	7.5
2002	Los Angeles	6	0	6.5	35.7	36.4	100.0	0.8	0.3	0.2	0.0	0.2	3.0
2003	Los Angeles	5	0	2.8	20.0	0.0	75.0	0.4	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.4	1.0
Career	4 years, 2 teams	19	2	10.7	37.3	34.5	73.7	1.6	0.5	0.5	0.1	0.8	4.2

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References

↑ F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
↑ "Nine Hall of Fame Inductees Announced," GatorZone.com (September 30, 2004). Retrieved July 22, 2011.
↑ "Florida Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-09-10.
↑ "Sixteenth World University Games -- 1993". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
↑ https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199706210LAS.html ^{[ bare URL ]}
↑ https://goheels.com/news/2002/4/19/205491266.aspx ^{[ bare URL ]}
↑ https://sportsteamhistory.com/los-angeles-sparks/ ^{[ bare URL ]}
↑ https://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/charlotte-sting-sign-sophia-witherspoon/n-3021941 ^{[ bare URL ]}
↑ https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/teams/CHA/2004_transactions.html ^{[ bare URL ]}
↑ https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/200309160DET.html ^{[ bare URL ]}

External links

Sophia Witherspoon – Official WNBA player profile

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[1] F Club, Hall of Fame, Gator Greats. Retrieved December 13, 2014.

[2] "Nine Hall of Fame Inductees Announced," GatorZone.com (September 30, 2004). Retrieved July 22, 2011.

[3] "Florida Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-09-10.

[1993_WUG-4] "Sixteenth World University Games -- 1993". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.

[5] ttps://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199706210LAS.html ^{[ bare URL ]}

[6] ttps://goheels.com/news/2002/4/19/205491266.aspx ^{[ bare URL ]}

[7] ttps://sportsteamhistory.com/los-angeles-sparks/ ^{[ bare URL ]}

[8] ttps://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/charlotte-sting-sign-sophia-witherspoon/n-3021941 ^{[ bare URL ]}

[9] ttps://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/teams/CHA/2004_transactions.html ^{[ bare URL ]}

[10] ttps://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/200309160DET.html ^{[ bare URL ]}

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