Sonja Henning
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(Racine, Wisconsin)
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | October 4, 1969 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| High school | Horlick (Racine, Wisconsin) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College | Stanford (1988–1991) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WNBA draft | 1999: 2nd round, 12th overall pick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drafted by | Houston Comets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | Houston Comets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Seattle Storm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Houston Comets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Washington Mystics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Indiana Fever | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Stats at Basketball Reference | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Sonja L. Henning (born October 4, 1969) is an American attorney and former collegiate and professional women's basketball player. Born in Jackson, Tennessee, she grew up in Racine, Wisconsin, where she attended Horlick High School.
While at Horlick, Henning earned 12 varsity letters in tennis, track and field, and most notably basketball as a 4-year starter at guard. Henning lead the Racine Horlick Rebels to 2 WIAA basketball tournament appearances, including the championship game in 1987 (her senior year). At the end of Henning's prep basketball career in 1987, Sonja became the state of Wisconsin's all-time leading scorer with 2,236 points, a two-time, first-team, all-state selection, and was chosen to be the 1987 Wisconsin Miss Basketball.[1]
Henning attended Stanford University and played for its women's basketball team from 1987 to 1991. She helped the Cardinal win the 1990 NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship game, defeating Auburn University Tigers 88–81 with 21 points and nine rebounds.[2][3] The following year, Henning was named Pac-10 Player of the Year[2] and a Kodak All-American in her senior season.[4][5][6]
Professional career
After graduating from Stanford in 1991, there were few opportunities for women to play professional basketball in the United States at the time, so Henning started her professional career playing in a women's professional basketball team in Sweden in 1992.[7]
In 1996, the American Basketball League (ABL) was formed, and Henning tried out for a playing spot on a team in the new league. Henning was eventually drafted by the San Jose Lasers, a team which also featured former Stanford players Jennifer Azzi, Anita Kaplan, and Val Whiting.[8] She played for the Lasers for two seasons, then joined the Portland Power until financial difficulties led to the ABL's demise in 1998.[1]
Henning joined the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) after being selected in the second round (24th overall pick) by the Houston Comets during its 1999 WNBA draft and helped the Comets to its third straight WNBA championship season. During that same year, she also served as the president of the WNBA Players Union.[9]
During the 2000 expansion draft on December 15, 1999, Henning was selected by the Seattle Storm.[10][11] Henning played with the team from 2000 to part of the 2002 season until she was traded back to the Comets.[9]
After the 2002 season ended, she became a free agent, and signed a contract with the Washington Mystics on May 5, 2003, but was waived by the team three weeks later. In June 2003, Henning signed a contract with the Indiana Fever for the remainder of that season then retired thereafter.[9]
USA Basketball
Henning was a member of the USA Women's U18 team which won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas Championship in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The event was known as the Junior World Championship Qualifying Tournament at the time. The event was held in August 1988, when the USA team defeated the host team Brazil by a score of 70–68 to win the championship. Henning sank two free throws with under one second remaining in the game to win the final game and the gold medal.[12]
Henning represented the US at the World Championships held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July 1990.[2] The team won all eight games, earning the gold medal. Henning scored 2.0 points per game.[13]
Henning again represented the USA at the 1990 Goodwill Games held in Seattle, WA during August 1990;[2] the USA team won the gold medal.[14]
Henning also played with the USA team at the 1991 Pan American Games. The team finished with a record of 4–2, but managed to win the bronze medal. The USA team lost a three-point game to Brazil, then responded with wins over Argentina and Cuba, earning a spot in the medal round. The next game was a rematch against Cuba, and this time the team from Cuba won a five-point game. The USA beat Canada easily to win the bronze. Gordon averaged 3 points per game.[15]
Career statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| † | Denotes season in which Henning won a WNBA championship |
| * | Denotes season in which Henning won an NCAA Championship |
WNBA
Regular season
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999† | Houston | 32 | 32 | 24.9 | .444 | .317 | .611 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 4.0 |
| 2000 | Seattle | 32 | 32 | 30.6 | .351 | .379 | .607 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 5.3 |
| 2001 | Seattle | 32 | 28 | 28.2 | .318 | .182 | .514 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 3.4 |
| 2002 | Seattle | 8 | 5 | 25.9 | .364 | .000 | .500 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 2.3 |
| Houston | 23 | 10 | 22.7 | .346 | .250 | .455 | 2.5 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 1.9 | |
| 2003 | Washington | 1 | 0 | 5.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Indiana | 23 | 1 | 12.6 | .262 | .000 | .250 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.0 | |
| Career | 5 years, 4 teams | 151 | 108 | 24.5 | .356 | .278 | .547 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 3.2 |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999† | Houston | 6 | 6 | 22.7 | .348 | .111 | .333 | 3.0 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 3.2 |
| 2002 | Houston | 3 | 3 | 16.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| Career | 2 years, 1 team | 9 | 9 | 20.4 | .250 | .091 | .333 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2.1 |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–88 | Stanford | 32 | - | - | 44.2 | 0.0 | 75.9 | 4.3 | 4.0 | 1.7 | 0.1 | - | 10.8 |
| 1988–89 | Stanford | 30 | - | - | 49.8 | 43.2 | 72.9 | 4.1 | 5.7 | 1.9 | 0.1 | - | 10.1 |
| 1989–90* | Stanford | 33 | - | - | 45.1 | 25.6 | 73.8 | 4.2 | 6.7 | 2.3 | 0.2 | - | 8.8 |
| 1990–91 | Stanford | 32 | - | - | 45.5 | 38.0 | 63.1 | 6.0 | 7.4 | 2.8 | 0.3 | - | 15.7 |
| Career | 127 | - | - | 46.0 | 36.4 | 70.5 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 2.2 | 0.2 | - | 11.4 | |
