Rebecca Lobo

Rebecca Rose Lobo-Rushin (born October 6, 1973) is an American television basketball analyst and former professional women's basketball player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) from 1997 to 2003. Lobo, at 6'4", played the center position for much of her career. She 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. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. In April 2017, she was 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; her father also coached 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 held this record for 18 years until it was surpassed 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 its proximity and her belief in its academic excellence. 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. She 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. The Women's Sports Foundation named Lobo the 1995 Sportswoman of the Year (in the team category). She was the first player in the Big East Conference to earn first-team all-American honors for both basketball and academics.

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.

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 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).^{[citation needed]}