Bridget Pettis to be Honored as SEC Women's Basketball Great
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 | Women's Basketball
Featuring former outstanding student-athletes from all 12 SEC member institutions, the 2010 class of the SEC Greats will be honored at the Southeastern Conference Women's Basketball Tournament March 4-7 at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga.
Former Gator basketball standout Bridget Pettis is the University of Florida's honoree. Pettis was named to the 1993 All-SEC Team, when she helped the Gators to a 19-10 record and earn their first ever NCAA Tournament berth.
Upon her graduation, Pettis held all three-point school records and finished sixth on the all-time career point average leaders (15.2 ppg). Entering the first round of the 2010 SEC Tournament, Pettis record of eight three-pointers against Georgia on Jan. 20, 1993, is still Florida's single-game standard.
During her two-year, 53-game career at UF, Pettis totaled 804 points, 247 rebounds, 135 assists and 107 steals.
A 5-foot-9 guard from East Chicago, Ind., Pettis enjoyed a very successful professional basketball career following her college days. A nine-year veteran of the WNBA, Pettis was an original member of the inaugural Phoenix Mercury club in 1997, selected by the team with the seventh pick in the 1997 Elite Draft. She played in a club-record 154 consecutive games from 1997-2001. Pettis retired during the 2006 season, and the Mercury honored one of the most popular players in franchise history by retiring her jersey in a ceremony on June 6, 2006.
Pettis, who also played professionally in Europe for 14 years, has been as assistant coach with the Mercury since 2007, helping the team win the 2007 and 2009 WNBA Championships.
Each honoree will be introduced during half-time of their teams first game of the tournament, all 12 individuals will also be introduced as a group between games of the second session on Friday, March 5. The Greats will then participate in an autograph session on the concourse before game eight.
The SEC Greats 2010 class includes:
Andree' Pickens Houston, Alabama – Gymnastics
Shameka Christon, Arkansas – Basketball
Cicely “CC” Hayden, Auburn – Basketball
Bridget Pettis, Florida – Basketball
Lady Hardmon Grooms, Georgia – Basketball
Jocelyn Mills Lyons, Kentucky – Basketball
Seimone Augustus, LSU – Basketball
Peggy Gillom-Granderson, Ole Miss – Basketball
LaToya Thomas, Mississippi State – Basketball
Ashley Edlund Heidtke, South Carolina – Volleyball
Nikki McCray, Tennessee – Basketball
Chantelle Anderson, Vanderbilt – Basketball
-UF-
