Sofía Roma (born 21 November 1996) is a Puerto Rican and Italian basketball player who represents Puerto Rico in international play. Roma played college basketball at Wagner College and later Duke.
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 26 November 1996 Richmond Hill, New York City, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Nazareth Regional (Brooklyn, New York) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Wagner Duke | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2019–present | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Power forward / Center | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | Cangrejeras de Santurce | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | Della Fiore Broni | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Grupo Hafesa Raca Granada | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | Södertälje BBK | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | A.S. Vicenza | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Montañeras de Morovis | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Early life
editAn Italian-Puerto Rican, Roma was born on 21 November 1996 in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of New York City, New York.[1][2] A center, Roma played high school basketball at Nazareth Regional.[3]
College career
editRoma played college basketball for the Wagner Seahawks, which represent Wagner College. In her freshman season, she was noted for her rebounding and shot-blocking, averaging 5.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game in 29 games played.[3] She then averaged 10.0 rebounds per game in her sophomore year.[4] Following the season, she transferred to Duke University, where she played for the Blue Devils.[4] Due to the NCAA's transfer rules, she sat out the 2016–17 season.[4] She made her debut with Duke on 25 January 2018, against Boston College.[5] She dealt with knee issues, causing her to have limited playing time while at Duke.[5]
Professional career
editRoma has played professional club basketball in Sweden, Italy, Spain, and Puerto Rico.[6] After finishing her college career at Duke, she played for the Cangrejeras de Santurce of the Puerto Rican Baloncesto Superior Nacional Femenino (BSNF) league in 2019 and 2020.[7] In June 2020, she signed with the Italian club Della Fiore Broni of the Lega Basket Femminile (LBF).[7] In August 2021, Roma signed with Grupo Hafesa Raca Granada of the Liga Femenina Challenge.[8] She later played for Södertälje BBK in Sweden.[9] In January 2023, she signed with A.S. Vicenza.[10] In 2023, Roma returned to the BSNF to play for the Montañeras de Morovis.[11]
National team career
editHolding both Puerto Rican and Italian nationality,[12] Roma represents Puerto Rico in international tournament play as a power forward and center.[1][11] She was on the women's national junior team in 2011 at the FIBA Under-16 Women's AmeriCup in Mexico.[4] She also played at Women's U17 Centrobasket tournament in 2013.[13]
Roma made her debut for the senior team in 2015, at the 2015 Pan American Games.[3] She was later on Puerto Rico's roster at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, with the team winning bronze.[7] Roma also represented Puerto Rico at three AmeriCup tournaments (2015, 2019, and 2023).[1] She also played for Puerto Rico at the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, where the team lost in the quarter-finals.[1] The team recorded two wins in group play, which were Puerto Rico's first wins in either World Cup or Olympic play.[1] Roma played for Puerto Rico at the 2022 Centrobasket Women tournament, helping the team win the championship.[2][14]
Roma helped Puerto Rico qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, being on the team's roster in the qualifying tournament held in Xi'an.[11] In May, she played in an exhibition game between the Puerto Rico women's national team and the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).[15] After being named to a 15-woman preliminary roster for Puerto Rico's Olympic play,[16] Roma was named to Puerto Rico's final 12-woman roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[17]
Off the court
editShe graduated from Duke in May 2018 with a bachelor's degree in politic science and later from the Fuqua School of Business with a masters in management studies.[5][6] Roma is the Head of Sports Desk for The Field Team, a Soethby's-affiliated real estate company in New York.[6]
Career statistics
edit| 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 | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Wagner | 28 | 1 | 15.8 | .400 | – | .455 | 5.8 | .1 | .5 | 1.0 | 3.2 | |
| 2015–16 | Wagner | 28 | 27 | 28.3 | .380 | – | .630 | 10.0 | .6 | .5 | 2.1 | 5.7 | |
| 2016–17 | Duke | Did not play due to NCAA transfer rules | |||||||||||
| 2017–18 | Duke | 12 | 0 | 5.8 | .333 | – | .200 | 1.3 | .3 | .3 | .0 | .8 | |
| 2018–19 | Duke | 24 | 0 | 5.3 | .500 | – | 1.000 | 1.0 | .2 | .0 | .1 | .4 | |
| Statistics retrieved from Wagner Athletics and ESPN.[3][18] | |||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "ROMA Sofia". olympics.com. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Sofia Roma Basketball Profile". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Sofia Roma". Wagner Athletics. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Blue Devils Add 6-2 Transfer Sofia Roma from Wagner". GoDuke.com. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Q&A with Fifth-Year Senior Sofia Roma". GoDuke.com. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Meet Sofia". The Field Team. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Broni signs Sofia Roma, ex Santurce". Eurobasket.com. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "Sofia Roma (ex Broni) agreed terms with Granada". Latinbasket.com. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "Sofia Roma (PUR)'s profile - FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022". FIBA. 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "AS Vicenza 2022-23: il colpo grosso si chiama Sofia Roma" (in Italian). A.S. Vicenza. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ a b c "Sofia Roma". FIBA. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "Sofia Roma - Player Profile". FIBA. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "15 - Sofia Laura Roma". FIBA. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "Centrobasket (2022)". Latinbasket.com. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "WNBA Stats - PUR vs LVA". Women's National Basketball Association. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ "París 2024: la Selección Nacional de baloncesto femenino corta dos jugadoras y prepara su salida a Europa para partidos de fogueo". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 8 July 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
- ^ @FIBA (20 July 2024). "The Ultimate 12 to rep Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 at #Paris2024 🤩" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 August 2024 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Sofia Roma Career Stats". ESPN. Retrieved 4 August 2024.