Sheryl Swoopes

Shortly after Swoopes was born, on March 21, 1971, her father left home. Her mother, sometimes relying on welfare to meet family needs, raised Swoopes and her three brothers by herself. Swoopes began playing basketball at age seven. After earning national junior college Player of the Year honors at South Plains

Sheryl Swoopes

J.C. in Texas, Swoopes transferred to Texas Tech University. Despite playing only two seasons there, she ranked fourth among all-time Lady Raiders with 1,645 points and sixth for steals. She averaged 24.9 points per game.

Swoopes scored 47 points in the NCAA championship game as the Lady Raiders held off Ohio State with a score of 84-82. In that game she made 16 of 24 shots and all 11 of her free throws. She scored 53 points in the conference championship game, then totaled 130 points and 43 rebounds in the first four games of the NCAA tournament. During her two seasons of play, Texas Tech sported a 58-8 record. The school retired her jersey number (22) the following season. That winter she also played ten games for Basket Bari, a professional team in Italy. Swoopes was also a member of the gold medal-winning 1996 Olympic team. The championship culminated a 60-0 run over two years.