Tara Williams (basketball)

Last updated
Tara Williams
Personal information
Born (1974-07-23) July 23, 1974 (age 50)
Career information
College Auburn [1]
WNBA draft 1998: Expansion draft round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Detroit Shock
Position Guard
Career history
1997 Phoenix Mercury
1998 KR
2000 Portland Fire
Career highlights and awards
  • All-SEC Selection (1997, second team)
  • SEC All-Tournament (1997) [2]
Stats at Basketball Reference

Tara Williams (born July 23, 1974) is a former professional basketball player who played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers women's basketball team at Auburn University from 1995 to 1997. She also played in the WNBA in 1997 for the Phoenix Mercury and in 2000 for the Portland Fire. [3]

Contents

Professional career

Although not part of the initial player allocation, elite draft or college draft, Williams was fortunately able to sign a contract with Phoenix Mercury on May 22, 1997 for the WNBA's inaugural season in 1997. Her debut game was played on June 22, 1997 in a 76 - 59 win over the Charlotte Sting where she recorded 9 points and 4 rebounds. [4] Williams would only play in 12 of the Mercury's 28 regular season games (mostly missing the month of July where she played in 1 out of 12 games). The Mercury finished 1st in the western conference with a 16–12 record and made it to the playoffs where they would be defeated by the New York Liberty 41–59 in the semi-finals. Williams had a playing time of only 52 seconds, and this game would end up being Williams only playoff game in her career.

After a stint int Greece, Williams signed with KR of the Icelandic top-tier 1. deild kvenna (now known as Úrvalsdeild kvenna) in January 1998. [5] She appared in 6 regular season games, averaging 22.8 points and 10.3 rebounds, [6] and helping KR to the second best record in the league. [7] In the playoffs, she led KR to the finals but suffered a season ending knee injury in game four of the series. [8] Without her, KR lost the next game and the championship series. [9]

Williams would be moved from the Mercury to the Detroit Shock on February 18, 1998 as part of the expansion drive for newly-formed teams. Unfortunately, she would never play for the Shock and missed the 1998 and 1999 seasons.[ citation needed ] Looking for a comeback, Williams would sign with the Sacramento Monarchs for the 2000 season. But two weeks before the Monarchs' was set to have their season opener, Williams was waived by the team on May 15, 2000. [10]

The newly formed Portland Fire would be the next stop for Williams. After missing two back-to-back seasons, the team picked up her contract and she played her first game for the team on June 3, 2000 recording 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal. [11] Williams played in many more games for the Fire than she did her rookie year with the Mercury, appearing in 26 of the Fire's 32 games. The Fire finished with a 10 - 22 record and missed the playoffs.

Williams would be waived by the Fire on April 17, 2001 (three days before the 2001 Draft) and did not play in the WNBA again. [12]

For WNBA her career, Williams played in 38 games and averaged 3.1 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.4 assists.

Personal life

Williams' daughter, Olivia Cochran, played college basketball for the Louisville Cardinals. [13]

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames 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

WNBA

Source [14]

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
1997 Phoenix 1207.0.410.455–.7.3.3.0.33.1
2000 Portland 2606.7.449.341.500.7.5.3.1.43.1
Career2 years, 2 teams3806.8.435.365.500.7.4.3.1.43.1

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
1997 Phoenix 101.0–––.0.0.0.0.0.0

College

Source [15]

Legend
  GPGames 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
YearTeamGPPointsFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
1995–96Auburn3241044.9%0.0%68.8%6.81.01.41.312.8
1996–97Auburn3257847.6%40.0%67.4%6.10.51.61.518.1
TOTALAuburn6498846.4%40.0%68.0%6.50.81.51.415.4

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References

  1. ↑ "Stevenson and Willingham Earn Spots on WNBA Rosters". AuburnTigers.com. May 19, 2004. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015.
  2. ↑ "SEC Awards" (PDF). Auburn University. 2004. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Blades top pick in WNBA expansion draft". The Augusta Chronicle. Associated Press. Retrieved 2017-09-10.
  4. ↑ "Charlotte Sting at Phoenix Mercury, June 22, 1997". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  5. ↑ "KR-stúlkur fá liðsstyrk". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 2024-01-08. p. C5. Retrieved 2024-12-12– via Tímarit.is. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. ↑ "1. deild kvenna - KR". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Association . Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "1. deild kvenna 1998". kki.is. Icelandic Basketball Association . Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "Williams meiddist illa og fór heim". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 1998-03-28. p. B3. Retrieved 12 December 2024– via Tímarit.is. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  9. ↑ Skapti Hallgrímsson (1998-03-31). "Keflvíkingar bestir". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). p. 4B. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
  10. ↑ "TRANSACTIONS" . Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  11. ↑ "Portland Fire at Seattle Storm, June 3, 2000". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  12. ↑ "2001 Portland Fire Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
  13. ↑ Joshua Mixon (2020-01-24). "Her mom played in the WNBA, her dad in the NFL. This Carver hoops player is a star herself". ledger-enquirer.com. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
  14. ↑ "Tara Williams WNBA stats". Basketball Reference . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  15. ↑ "Auburn Women's Basketball 2016-17 Record Book" (PDF). p. 89. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-10. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
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