Rebecca Lobo

Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin (born October 6, 1973) is an American television basketball analyst and former women's basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2003.

Lobo was named to the USA U18 team (then called the Junior World Championship Qualifying Team) in 1992.

The team competed in Guanajuato, Mexico in August 1992.

The team won their first four games, then lost 80–70 to Brazil, finishing with the silver medal for the event, but qualifying for the 1993 world games.

Lobo averaged 6.8 points per game during the event.

Lobo continued with the team to the 1993 U19 World Championship (then called the Junior World Championship).

The team won five games and lost two, but that left them in seventh place.

Lobo averaged 7.7 points per game and recorded six blocks, highest on the team.

Lobo was awarded the prestigious Honda-Broderick Cup for 1994–95, presented to the athlete "most deserving of recognition as the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year".

She was a member of the inaugural class of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program.

Lobo, at 6'4", played the center position for much of her career. Lobo played college basketball at the University of Connecticut, where she was a member of the team that won the 1995 national championship, going 35–0 on the season in the process. Lobo was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. In April 2017, she was announced as one of the members of the 2017 class of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside Tracy McGrady and Muffet McGraw.

Lobo was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the youngest daughter of RuthAnn (née Hardy) and Dennis Joseph Lobo.

Her father is of Cuban descent, while her mother was of German and Irish heritage.

Lobo was raised a Catholic.

Her brother Jason played basketball at Dartmouth College and her sister Rachel played basketball at Salem State College.

Lobo's mother and father were both teachers; in addition, her father coached both basketball and track and field.

Raised in Southwick, Massachusetts, Lobo was the state scoring record-holder with 2,740 points in her high school career for Southwick-Tolland Regional High School in Massachusetts.

She helped lead the Huskies to the 1995 National Championship with an undefeated 35–0 record.

In her senior year, Lobo was the unanimous national player of the year, winning the 1995 Naismith College Player of the Year award, the Wade Trophy, the AP Player of the Year award, the USBWA Player of the Year award, the Honda Sports Award for basketball, and the WBCA Player of the Year award.

Lobo was named the 1995 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category) by the Women's Sports Foundation.

Lobo was the first player in the Big East Conference ever to earn first-team all-American honors for both basketball and academics.

In 1995, Lobo passed through tryouts to join the national team, which later became the US team for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA. Though her minutes on the floor were few, Lobo shared in the gold medal.

In 1997, the WNBA was formed and enjoyed its inaugural season, and Lobo was assigned to the New York Liberty during the league's first player allocations on January 22, 1997.

Her debut game was played on June 21, 1997 in a 67 - 57 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks where she recorded 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

In her first season, the Liberty fell to the Houston Comets in the WNBA Finals.

Lobo remained being a centerpiece of the Liberty in the 1998 season, averaging 11.7 points and 6.9 rebounds as the Liberty finished 18 - 12.

Although they had a great record, the Liberty would not make the playoffs in 1998 due to being 5th in the league standings and only the top 4 teams made the playoffs.

The Charlotte Sting also had a 18 - 12 record, but made it in the playoffs over the Liberty due to having a better Conference record (11 - 5 to New York's 8 - 8).

Lobo suffered a setback in 1999, tearing her left anterior cruciate ligament and her meniscus in the first game of the season.

In 1999, she was selected to the inaugural WNBA All Star team but could not play because of the injury.

On April 3, 2002, she was traded to the Houston Comets in exchange for Houston's second-round selection (26th overall) in the 2002 WNBA draft (the Liberty would use the pick to draft Linda Fröhlich).

Lobo also played two seasons in the National Women's Basketball League with the Springfield Spirit from 2002 through 2003.

On February 14, 2003, Lobo was traded to the Connecticut Sun for a 2003 second-round pick (which the Comets used to select Lori Nero).

Lobo played in 29 games for the Sun, averaging 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds.

Her final WNBA game ever was played in Game 2 of the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Shock on September 7, 2003.

Lobo recorded 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 blocks but the Sun lost the game 73 - 79 and would be eliminated from the playoffs.

Lobo would announce her retirement on September 23, 2003.

She held this record for 18 years until it was eclipsed by Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir of the new Leadership Charter School in Springfield on January 26, 2009.

More than 100 colleges recruited Lobo, but she chose the University of Connecticut due to proximity and her belief in its academic excellence.

Lobo was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2010.