Former Lady Texans
Sheryl Swoopes
For Sheryl Swoopes, the road to becoming one of the world’s top basketball players ran straight through Levelland and South Plains College. All she was thinking of when she arrived in Levelland in 1989 was that she wanted to continue her education and have an opportunity to play basketball.
She turned down an offer at the University of Texas in favor of coming to South Plains. “I’ve never been around anyone that’s as talented and has the basketball savvy that she has,” former Lady Texan Coach Lyndon Hardin said, “and I don’t know if I ever will again.”
And for the third straight time in 2004, Swoopes has showcased her skills on the world stage. Swoopes added a third gold medal to her collection by helping the United States to the Olympic basketball title at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Swoopes garnered her first two Olympic golds after helping the U.S. to titles at the 1996 Games in Atlanta and the 2000 Games in Sydney.
Swoopes, who became the first SPC basketball player to have a uniform number retired in 1993, was selected as the National Junior College Player of the Year by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association in 1991. She helped the Lady Texans to 52 victories in two seasons, the National Junior College Athletic Association Region V championship in 1990 and a sixth-place finish at the NJCAA national tournament the same year. Swoopes twice-earned NJCAA All-American honors and is the only two-time All-American that SPC has ever had in basketball. She also was the only two-time Kodak All-American for the Lady Texans.
“Coming to SPC prepared me for the rest of my life,” Swoopes said. “It’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. South Plains has meant a lot to me.” The all-time leading scorer at SPC, Swoopes shared Most Valuable Player honors in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference in 1990 and held the conference MVP honor alone in 1991. In 64 games at SPC, she established 15 school records, 14 of which still stand.
After her time at South Plains, Swoopes went on to help Texas Tech to a NCAA national championship in 1993. After showing her dominance at the college level, Swoopes then began to show her talents to the world and the newly formed WNBA. She helped to lead the Houston Comets to four straight WNBA championships from 1997-2000. She was named WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year after picking up her fourth championship ring in 2000. She repeated the feat in 2002 and 2005.
Recent Lady Texans Moving On To 4-Year Universities
Ashlee Roberson 06-07 San Antonio, Texas - Texas Tech University
Dominic Seals 05-07 Dallas, Texas - Texas Tech University
Alana Rumph 05-07 Fort Worth, Texas - Texas Tech University
A.J. Adams 05-07 Los Angeles, California - Tennessee-Martin
Erica Knight 05-07 Lubbock, Texas - Wayland Baptist University
Fallon Thomas 04-06 Alamogordo, NM - Houston Baptist University
Brooke DeGrate 04-06 Amarillo, Texas - Texas State University
Alex Velazquez 04-06 El Paso, Texas - Central Arkansas University
Roni Gomez 05-06 Portales, New Mexico - Eastern New Mexico University
Megan Morris 04-05 Brownsville, Texas - Texas Tech University
Danielle Wilhelm 03-05 Wichita Falls, Texas - North Carolina State
Jacquie Seawright 03-05 Olton, Texas - Bucknell University
Tara Lisle 03-05 Rule, Texas - Tarleton State University
LaWanda Young 02-04 Sudan, Texas - Birmingham-Southern
Melissa DeGrate 01-03 Amarillo, Texas - Kent State
Eldra Paixao 01-03 Sao Paulo, Brazil - Missouri Western
Carla Sintra 01-03 Goiania, Brazil - Washburn University
Tamesha Graves 01-03 The Colony, Texas - Texas-Arlington
Barbara Seljak 01-03 Ljubljana, Slovenia - Texas A&M-Kingsville
D’Nae Wilson 00-02 Levelland, Texas - Lubbock Christian University
April Walker 00-01 Spur, Texas - Incarnate Word University
Jamy Parker 00-01 Lorenzo, Texas - Lubbock Christian University
Danelle Evans 99-01 Wichita Falls, Texas - Incarnate Word University
Monica Trimble 98-01 Amarillo, Texas - Eastern New Mexico
Katrina Jordan 98-00 Odessa, Texas - Midwestern State Univ.
Lanna Quintyne 98-00 St. Michael, Barbados - Montana State
Jody Avent 97-99 Stinnett, Texas - Eastern New Mexico
Missy Frazier 97-99 Levelland, Texas - Eastern New Mexico
Kristi Voss 97-99 Levelland, Texas - Lubbock Christian Univ.
Annetta Anglin 96-98 Groesbeck, Texas - Texas A&M-Kingsville
LaNetta Anglin 96-98 Groesbeck, Texas - Texas A&M-Kingsville
Aleah Johnson 96-98 Carrollton, Texas - Texas Tech University
Kim Thomas 96-98 Dimmitt, Texas - Lubbock Christian Univ.
Allison Mooney 96-98 Waco, Texas - Lubbock Christian Univ.
Angie Braziel 95-97 Odessa, Texas - Texas Tech University
Christie Kirkland 95-97 Amarillo, Texas - Lubbock Christian Univ.
Shea Bennett 95-97 Hart, Texas - Wayland Baptist Univ.
Mischere Kyles 95-97 Pittsburg, Calif. - Montevallo Univ.
Tanya Ray 96-97 Brenham, Texas - St. Mary’s Univ.
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