Tara Williams (born July 23, 1974) is a former professional basketball player who played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers women's basketball team at Auburn University from 1995 to 1997. She also played in the WNBA in 1997 for the Phoenix Mercury and in 2000 for the Portland Fire.[3]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 23, 1974 |
| Career information | |
| College | Auburn[1] |
| WNBA draft | 1998: Expansion draft round, 5th overall pick |
| Selected by the Detroit Shock | |
| Position | Guard |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Stats at Basketball Reference | |
WNBA
editAlthough not part of the initial player allocation, elite draft or college draft, Williams was fortunately able to sign a contract with Phoenix Mercury on May 22, 1997 for the WNBA's inaugural season in 1997. Her debut game was played on June 22, 1997 in a 76 - 59 win over the Charlotte Sting where she recorded 9 points and 4 rebounds.[4] Williams would only play in 12 of the Mercury's 28 regular season games (mostly missing the month of July where she played in 1 out of 12 games). The Mercury finished 1st in the western conference with a 16 - 12 record and made it to the playoffs where they would be defeated by the New York Liberty 41 - 59 in the semi-finals. Williams had a playing time of only 52 seconds, and this game would end up being Williams only playoff game in her career.
Williams would be moved from the Mercury to the Detroit Shock on February 18, 1998 as part of the expansion drive for newly-formed teams. Unfortunately, she would never play for the Shock and missed the 1998 and 1999 seasons. Looking for a comeback, Williams would sign with the Sacramento Monarchs for the 2000 season. But two weeks before the Monarchs' was set to have their season opener, Williams was waived by the team on May 15, 2000.[5]
The newly formed Portland Fire would be the next stop for Williams. After missing two back-to-back seasons, the team picked up her contract and she played her first game for the team on June 3, 2000 recording 10 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal.[6] Williams played in many more games for the Fire than she did her rookie year with the Mercury, appearing in 26 of the Fire's 32 games. The Fire finished with a 10 - 22 record and missed the playoffs.
Williams would be waived by the Fire on April 17, 2001 (three days before the 2001 Draft) and did not play in the WNBA again.[7] The final game of her career was the Fire's final regular season game that season. The game coincidentally took place against William's former team (Mercury) on August 9, 2000 and the Fire would lose the game 60 - 68 with Williams scoring 7 points.[8]
For her career, Williams played in 38 games and averaged 3.1 points, 0.7 rebounds and 0.4 assists.
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
WNBA
editSource[9]
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Phoenix | 12 | 0 | 7.0 | .410 | .455 | – | .7 | .3 | .3 | .0 | .3 | 3.1 |
| 2000 | Portland | 26 | 0 | 6.7 | .449 | .341 | .500 | .7 | .5 | .3 | .1 | .4 | 3.1 |
| Career | 2 years, 2 teams | 38 | 0 | 6.8 | .435 | .365 | .500 | .7 | .4 | .3 | .1 | .4 | 3.1 |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Phoenix | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | – | – | – | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
College
editSource[10]
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995-96 | Auburn | 32 | 410 | 44.9% | 0.0% | 68.8% | 6.8 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 12.8 |
| 1996-97 | Auburn | 32 | 578 | 47.6% | 40.0% | 67.4% | 6.1 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 18.1 |
| TOTAL | Auburn | 64 | 988 | 46.4% | 40.0% | 68.0% | 6.5 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 1.4 | 15.4 |
References
edit- ^ "Stevenson and Willingham Earn Spots on WNBA Rosters". AuburnTigers.com. May 19, 2004. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015.
- ^ "SEC Awards" (PDF). Auburn University. 2004. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
- ^ "Blades top pick in WNBA expansion draft". The Augusta Chronicle. Associated Press. Retrieved 2017-09-10.
- ^ "Charlotte Sting at Phoenix Mercury, June 22, 1997". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "TRANSACTIONS". Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "Portland Fire at Seattle Storm, June 3, 2000". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "2001 Portland Fire Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "Phoenix Mercury at Portland Fire, August 9, 2000". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
- ^ "Tara Williams WNBA stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
- ^ "Auburn Women's Basketball 2016-17 Record Book" (PDF). p. 89. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-09-10. Retrieved 2017-09-08.
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