SHERYL SWOOPES

b. 1971

Brownfield, Texas

WNBA player, Olympian

As one of the firsts, Swoopes’ is an icon in women’s basketball. Starting young, her most notable performance is the 1993 NCAA Women's Championship game. In it she scored an NCAA record of 47 points, leading Texas Tech to victory over Ohio State. As of 2020, she's still the only player to score 47 points in a championship game. Swoopes was named college Player of the Year that season, averaging 35.4 points a game.

Signing to the Houston Comets, Sheryl and her team won the championship four consecutive years from 1997-2000, which, if you're counting, is the first four years the WNBA existed.

Swoopes is also the WNBA's first three-time MVP, winning in 2000, 2002, and 2005 and the First WNBA player to sign a signature shoe deal with a major brand.