Erin Buescher
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| Position | Forward / Center |
|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 181 pounds (82.1 kg) |
| Team | San Antonio Silver Stars |
| Nationality |  American |
| Born | June 5, 1979 San Francisco, California |
| College | The Master's College |
| Draft | 23rd overall, 2001 Minnesota Lynx |
| Pro career | 2001 – present |
| Former teams | Minnesota Lynx 2001–2002, Charlotte Sting 2002–2005, Sacramento Monarchs 2005-2007 |
| Awards | WNBA Most Improved Player (2006) Big West Player of the Year (1998, 1999 and 2000) |
Erin Buescher (born June 5, 1979 in San Francisco, California[1]) is an American professional basketball player for the the San Antonio Silver Stars of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). On the basketball court, she can play both forward or center positions.
In her WNBA career, Buescher has played more than 2,500 minutes in 150 WNBA games, including 9 playoff games. Buescher has amassed nearly 900 career point and 500 rebounds.[1]
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[edit] Early Life
Buescher is the daughter of Jim and Margie Buescher, and has two sisters Jenny and Emily, and a brother James.[1] Buescher attended University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) during her freshman, sophomore, and junior years from 1998 to 2000. She helped lead its women's basketball team, nicknamed The Gauchos, to an 83-14 won-loss record in her three years at the school, with UCSB winning the Big West Conference title and making appearances in the NCAA tournament all three years.
Buescher also played on the 1998 Jones Cup team, a squad which consisted of selected and highly-ranked female collegiate basketball players, and traveled to Beijing, China and Taipei, Taiwan.
In September 2001, Buescher, a devout Christian, transferred to The Master's College, a small Christian college in Santa Clarita, California. Buescher expressed that her decision to transfer to a smaller school was due to her deeply religious convictions.
During her senior year at Master's, Buescher helped lead their team (nicknamed The Lady Mustangs) to a 26-3 won-loss record and a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) tournament appearance. Additionally, she was an NAIA first-team All-American and was voted the National Christian College Athletic Association player of the year.
[edit] WNBA career
[edit] Minnesota Lynx
On April 11, 2001, Buescher was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in the second round (No. 23 overall) of the 2001 WNBA Draft.[1] She spent her rookie year with the Lynx and played all of the team's 32 games that year, while starting for 19 of those games).[2] . She led the Lynx team with 29 blocked shots.[1]
[edit] Charlotte Sting
In a 2002 WNBA multiplayer draft-day deal, the Charlotte Sting acquired Buescher and teammate Maylana Martin from the Minnesota Lynx, in exchange for Shaunzinski Gortman and Charlotte's No. 9 overall selection in the 2002 WNBA Draft.[1]
During the 2002 WNBA season, Buescher averaged 3.3 points per game in 29 games with Charlotte[2], but unfortunately had to miss the final 3 games of the regular season due to a sprained left ankle. During the 2003 WNBA season, Buescher only averaged 0.6 points per game in 14 games[2] with the Sting but had to miss the 11 remaining games of the regular season due to a strained lower back.[1]
Buescher took a hiatus from the WNBA in 2004, but did play in New Zealand for the Harbour Breeze and in Greece for Akademia during the 2004-05 WNBA off-season. Buescher returned to the WNBA in 2005.[1]
[edit] Sacramento Monarchs
The Charlotte Sting traded Buescher, along with teammates Nicole Powell and Olympia Scott-Richardson, to the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for Tangela Smith and a second-round draft pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft.[1] After a couple more off-season moves, the Monarchs began to see those moves pay off immediately as the team finished with a franchise-best 25-9 win/loss record. The Monarchs won their first ever WNBA Finals by defeating the Conneticut Sun, three games to one in a best-of-five playoff series, which brought Sacramento its first major championship in a professional sport. Buescher did average 3.3 points per game in 23 games with the Monarch but missed 11 games due to lumbar strain.[1]
During the early part of the 2006 WNBA season, the Monarchs played Buescher more often after teammate DeMya Walker went on maternity leave.[1] Buescher went on to lead all WNBA players in field goal percentage (.537) during the regular season and was awarded the 2006 WNBA Most Improved Player Award.[2]
[edit] San Antonio Silver Stars
In March 2007, Buescher signed with the San Antonio Silver Stars as a restricted free agent.[1] During the 2007 WNBA season, Buescher averaged 11.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.2 assist and 1.9 steals per game.[2] Buescher was the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week when a knee injury less than a minute into the Silver Stars July 11th game against the Phoenix Mercury ended her season.
[edit] International Career
Buescher has played in New Zealand for the Harbour Breeze and in Greece for Akademia during WNBA Off-seasons.[1]
[edit] Off the court
Buescher has participated as a commentator for local broadcast of Silver Stars games during her convalescense of an Anterior Cruciate Ligament rupture and reconstructive surgery. Buescher recently became engaged to Stratos Perperoglou, who plays basketball for Greece's Panathinaikos. Buescher has also started a Healthful Hints column for fans on the San Antonio Silver Stars website.
An avid surfer, Buescher is a member of a Christian surfers organization. In interviews, Buescher has said that she is interested in doing missionary work after her playing career ends. In a Sacramento Bee article in 2006, Buescher revealed she purchased land near a beach in Costa Rica, and said that she dreamed of owning a coffee shop in the area. Buescher speaks fluent Spanish and is learning Greek.[1]
[edit] WNBA career statistics
| Regular season | Team | G | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | OFF | DEF | RPG | APG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Minnesota | 32 | 19 | 22.7 | 0.348 | 0.276 | 0.618 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 3.7 | 1.9 | 5.7 |
| 2002 | Charlotte | 29 | 0 | 13.5 | 0.402 | 0.364 | 0.694 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 3.3 |
| 2003 | Charlotte | 14 | 0 | 3.1 | 0.375 | 0.000 | 0.750 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.6 |
| 2005 | Sacramento | 23 | 0 | 9.1 | 0.700 | 0.000 | 0.588 | 0.6 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 3.3 |
| 2006 | Sacramento | 34 | 12 | 19.6 | 0.537 | 0.000 | 0.750 | 2.3 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 9.7 |
| 2007 | San Antonio | 18 | 11 | 27.7 | 0.462 | 0.265 | 0.816 | 1.8 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 2.2 | 11.3 |
| 2008 | San Antonio | 3 | 0 | 26.0 | 0.417 | 0.429 | 0.889 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 4.3 | 3.3 | 10.3 |
| Career | 153 | 42 | 17.1 | 0.459 | 0.289 | 0.719 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 1.2 | 6.1 |
