Kia Vaughn (born January 24, 1987 in the Bronx, New York) is a professional women's basketball player. She has played for the WNBA's New York Liberty.[1] She attended high school at St. Michael's All Girls High School in New York, and later went on to star at Rutgers University.[2]
High school[]
Vaughn played for St. Michael Academy in New York, New York, where she was named a WBCA All-American.[3] She participated in the 2005 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored two points. [4]
College[]
Vaughn attended Rutgers University from 2006–2009, playing under legendary coach C. Vivian Stringer. She helped Rutgers to a perfect 16–0 record in the Big East conference her freshman year, averaging 6.3 points per game and 7 rebounds a game. During her sophomore season, she was named the All-Met Division I Women's College Basketball Player of the Year. She averaged 12.8 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game, and 2.5 blocks per game.[5] That year, she helped lead the Rutgers women's basketball team to a Big East Conference championship. The Lady Scarlet Knights lost to the Tennessee Lady Vols in the NCAA championship game.[6]
Vaughn continued to excel in her junior season, garnering Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association All-Met First Team honors along with being named to the All Big-East second team. She averaged 10 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game on the season. Her senior campaign was solid, but a little underwhelming as she averaged only 9.7 points per game 6.7 rebounds per game.[5] Nevertheless, she was named All-Big East Honorable Mention at the season's conclusion.[7]
USA Basketball[]
Vaughn was also a member of the Championship winning 2006 USA National Team FIBA Americas U20 Championship for Women in Mexico City, Mexico. Kia averaged 12 points and 3 rebounds in 5 games.
WNBA Career[]
Kia Vaughn was picked 8th overall in the 2009 WNBA Draft. She grew steadily in skill with the passage of time. The 2011 season saw the suspension of Vaughn's teammate and mentor, Janel McCarville. Vaughn was devastated, as the role of starting Center was suddenly thrust upon her. However, she rose to the occasion, and received the honor of being named the WNBA's Most Improved Player later that year.
References[]
- ↑ "Kia Vaughn Playerfile". WNBA. http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/kia_vaughn/index.html. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ↑ Ackert, Kristie "Liberty's Kia Vaughn is feeling right at home in Madison Square Garden", Daily News (New York), May 18, 2009. Accessed August 7, 2009.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedbox score - ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Prospect: Kia Vaughn". WNBA. http://www.wnba.com/draft2009/profiles/prospect_vaughn_kia.html. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ↑ "Prospect: Rutgers Women's Basketball History". Rutgers University. http://scarletknights.com/basketball-women/history/history2.asp. Retrieved August 7, 2009.
- ↑ "Women's Basketball Regular Season Awards Announced". Big East Conference. http://www.bigeast.org/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=92557&SPID=11229&DB_OEM_ID=19400&ATCLID=3684730. Retrieved August 1, 2009. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Category handler/blacklist' not found.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Category handler/blacklist' not found.[dead link]