Janice Lawrence Braxton

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Janice Lawrence Braxton
Personal information
BornJune 7, 1962 (1962-06-07) (age 59)
Lucedale, Mississippi
Listed height6 ft 2.5 in (1.89 m)
Listed weight161 lb (73 kg)
Career information
CollegeLouisiana Tech (1980–1984)
WNBA draft1997 / Round: Initial allocation
Selected by the Cleveland Rockers
PositionForward
Number8, 38
Career history
1997–1999Cleveland Rockers
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1984 Los Angeles Team competition
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1983 Venezuela Team competition
Jones Cup
Gold medal – first place 1984 Taipei Team competition
FIBA World Championship for Women
Silver medal – second place 1983 Rio de Janeiro Team competition

Janice Faye Lawrence Braxton (born June 7, 1962) is an American professional women's basketball player.[1] She was born in Lucedale, Mississippi. Braxton was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

College[]

Braxton played college basketball for Louisiana Tech, where she helped lead the Lady Techsters to national championships in 1981 and 1982.[1] While only a sophomore in 1982, she was the leading scorer in the NCAA tournament, and was named the tournament MVP.[1] Braxton won the WBCA Player of the Year award in 1984.

Louisiana Tech statistics[]

Source[2]

Legend
  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% FT% RPG PPG
1981 Louisiana Tech 34 507 NA 8.3 14.9
1982 Louisiana Tech 36 528 55.6% 71.3% 7.0 14.7
1983 Louisiana Tech 33 685 59.8% 63.5% 9.1 20.8
1984 Louisiana Tech 32 683 61.9% 71.0% 8.1 21.3
Career 135 2403 59.3% 68.3% 8.1 17.8

USA Basketball[]

Braxton was a member of the 1983 Pan American team that won a gold medal in Venezuela.[3]

Braxton was a member of the USA National team at the 1983 World Championships, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The team won six games, but lost two against the Soviet Union. In an opening round game, the USA team had a nine-point lead at halftime, but the Soviets came back to take the lead, and a final shot by the USA failed to drop, leaving the USSR team with a one-point victory 85–84. The USA team won their next four games, setting up the gold medal game against USSR. This game was also close, and was tied at 82 points each with six seconds to go in the game. Elena Chausova of the Soviet Union received the inbounds pass and hit the game winning shot in the final seconds, giving the USSR team the gold medal with a score of 84–82. The USA team earned the silver medal. Braxton averaged 8.9 points per game.[4]

In 1984, the USA sent its National team to the 1984 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan, for pre-Olympic practice. The team easily beat each of the eight teams they played, winning by an average of just under 50 points per game. Braxton averaged 6.7 points per game.[5]

She won a gold medal with the USA Women's Olympic basketball team in 1984.[6]

She was inducted into the Louisiana Tech University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2006, Braxton was elected to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Knoxville, Tennessee.[7]

Professional career[]

Braxton played for the New York team in the Women's American Basketball Association, a short-lived league in the mid-80's (not to be confused with WABA a league of the same name existing in 2002).[8]

Braxton played 13 seasons in Europe with Vicenza, Messina and Parma in Italian League. The Vicenza team won four European Champions Cup while Braxton played for the team, scoring almost 23 points per game. She earned All-Star honors in 1997.[8]

She spent three seasons playing for the Cleveland Rockers in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).

1997–1999: Cleveland Rockers

In 2003, she joined the Cleveland Rockers as an assistant coach.[8]

Awards and honors[]

  • 1982—NCAA Tournament MVP[1]
  • 1983—Kodak All-America[1]
  • 1984—Kodak All-America[1]
  • 1984—Wade Trophy[9]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Porter p. 53
  2. ^ "Women's Basketball Finest" (PDF). fs.ncaa.org. Retrieved October 2, 2017.
  3. ^ "Ninth Pan American Games -- 1983". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  4. ^ "Ninth World Championship For Women -- 1983". USA Basketball. June 10, 2010. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  5. ^ "1984 WOMEN'S R. WILLIAM JONES CUP". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on August 8, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  6. ^ "Games of the XXIIIrd Olympiad -- 1984". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2009.
  7. ^ "WBHOF Inductees". WBHOF. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  8. ^ a b c Porter p. 54
  9. ^ "The Wade Trophy". Women's Basketball Coaches Association. Retrieved June 30, 2014.

References[]

  • David L. Porter, ed. (2005). Basketball: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-30952-6.
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