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.  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 competition in Buffalo, New York.  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 (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. 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. 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. 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 but would be waived by them before as part of the final roster cuts before the season started.

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.

See also 

 List of Florida Gators in the WNBA
 List of University of Florida alumni
 List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members

References

External links 
  Sophia Witherspoon – Official WNBA player profile

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