Valerie Higgins

Valerie Higgins

Personal information
Born	(1998-05-26) May 26, 1998 (age 26)
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Career information
High school	Chaminade College Prep (Los Angeles, California)
College	USC (2017) Pacific (2018–2021)
WNBA draft	2021: 3rd round, 25th overall pick
Selected by the New York Liberty
Position	Guard
Number	22
Career history
2021	New York Liberty
Career highlights and awards
2x WCC Defensive Player of the Year (2019, 2021) 3x All-WCC (2019–2021)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals Women's basketball Representing the   United States FIBA Americas Under-18 Championship 2016 Chile Team

Valerie Higgins (born May 26, 1998) is an American professional basketball player. She was drafted 25th overall in the third round of the 2021 WNBA draft by the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association. ^{[1] [2]}

Higgins grew up in West Hills, California, where she attended Chaminade College Prep. She was named to the Naismith High School All-America Watch List and was named a Jordan Brand Classic All-American. She participated in USA Basketball's U18 National Team Trials in 2016 and was named to the team for the 2016 FIBA Americas U18 Championship in Chile. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

Higgins started her college career at the University of Southern California. She played one season with the Trojans, starting 15 of the 29 games she appeared in. she averaged 4.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 steals at USC. ^{[7] [8]}

Higgins transferred to the University of the Pacific after her freshman year. After sitting out one year, she played two at Pacific. She totaled 1,375 points, 744 rebounds, and 278 steals and became the first Pacific player ever chosen in the WNBA Draft. ^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

Southern California and Pacific statistics

Source ^[13]

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
2016–17	Southern California	29	127	37.5%	35.1%	51.4%	2.4	1.7	1.6	0.3	4.4
2017–18	Pacific	Did not play due to NCAA transfer rules [14]
2018–19	Pacific	32	550	46.1%	24.3%	77.9%	9.0	3.3	3.1	1.2	17.2
2019–20	Pacific	28	463	46.1%	18.4%	72.5%	9.1	3.8	3.5	0.8	16.5
2020–21	Pacific	22	362	46.4%	22.6%	86.8%	9.7	2.8	3.8	0.8	16.5
Career		111	1502	45.2%	25.0%	76.7%	7.5	2.9	3.0	0.8	13.5

References

1. Frommer, Justin. "Valerie Higgins becomes first Pacific WNBA Draft pick in program history". Stockton Record.
2. Sturm, Alec (May 4, 2021). "New York Liberty open preseason with closed scrimmage against Conneticut [sic] Sun". NetsDaily.
3. "Valerie Higgins". www.usab.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021.
4. News, Chaminade (Jun 1, 2016). "Valerie Higgins '16 Named to USA Basketball Under-18 National Team". CHAMINADE NEWS.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
5. "Girls' basketball: Valerie Higgins named to USA U18 national team". Los Angeles Times. May 31, 2016.
6. Sondheimer, Eric. "Chaminade's Valerie Higgins is on point as The Times' girls' basketball player of the year". mcall.com.
7. Sondheimer, Eric. "Girls' basketball: Chaminade's Valerie Higgins commits to USC". chicagotribune.com.
8. "Valerie Higgins – Women's Basketball". USC Athletics.
9. Wolf, Scott (Aug 21, 2017). "USC Women's Basketball Player Valerie Higgins Transfers". Inside USC with Scott Wolf.
10. "Valerie Higgins – 2020–21 – Women's Basketball". University of the Pacific.
11. "Higgins Makes History in 2021 WNBA Draft". wccsports.com.
12. "Pacific's first WNBA draft choice optimistic for future". www.pacific.edu.
13. "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
14. "Valerie Higgins – 2020–21 – Women's Basketball". University of the Pacific. Retrieved 2021-06-13.