View source for Ticha Penicheiro

{{Short description|Portuguese basketball player (born 1974)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox basketball biography
| name = Ticha Penicheiro
| image =Ticha Penicheiro 2019 03.png
| caption = Penicheiro in 2019
| height_ft = 5 | height_in = 11
| weight_lbs = 146
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1974|09|18}}
| birth_place = [[Figueira da Foz]], Portugal
| college = [[Old Dominion Lady Monarchs basketball|Old Dominion]] (1994–1998)
| draft_league = WNBA
| draft_year = 1998
| draft_round = 1
| draft_pick = 2
| draft_team = [[Sacramento Monarchs]]
| career_start = 1998
| career_end = 2012
| career_number = 21
| career_position = [[Point guard]]
| years1 = [[1998 WNBA season|1998]]–[[2009 WNBA season|2009]]
| team1 = [[Sacramento Monarchs]]
| years2 = 2000–2001
| team2 =[[Lotos VBW Clima Gdynia|Lotos Gdynia]]
| years3 = 2001–2002
| team3 = [[Basket Parma]]
| years4 = 2003–2004
| team4 = [[UMMC Ekaterinburg]]
| years5 = 2004–2005
| team5 = [[Union Sportive Valenciennes Olympic|Valenciennes]]
| years6 = 2005–2007
| team6 = [[WBC Spartak Moscow Region|Spartak Moscow]]
| years7 = 2008
| team7 = [[TTT Riga]]
| years8 = 2009–2010
| team8 = [[Geas Basket]]
| years9 = [[2010 WNBA season|2010]]–[[2011 WNBA season|2011]]
| team9 = [[Los Angeles Sparks]]
| years10 = 2010
| team10 = [[PF Umbertide]]
| years11  = 2010–2011
| team11 = Sport Algés e Dafundo
| years12 = 2011
| team12 = [[USK Praha (women's basketball)|USK Praha]]
| years13 = 2012
| team13 = [[Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball)|Galatasaray]]
| years14 = [[2012 WNBA season|2012]]
| team14 = [[Chicago Sky]]
| highlights = 
*[[WNBA Championship|WNBA champion]] ([[2005 WNBA Finals|2005]])
*4× [[WNBA All-Star Game|WNBA All-Star]] ([[1999 WNBA All-Star Game|1999]]–[[2002 WNBA All-Star Game|2002]])
*2× [[All-WNBA Team|All-WNBA First Team]] (1999–2000)
*[[All-WNBA Team|All-WNBA Second Team]] (2001)
*[[WNBA All-Defensive Team|All-Defensive First Team]] (2008)
*7× [[List of Women's National Basketball Association season assists leaders|WNBA assists leader]] (1998–2003, 2010)
*[[WNBA Peak Performers|WNBA Peak Performer]] (2010)
*[[WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time|WNBA 15th Anniversary Team]] (2011)
*[[WNBA Top 20@20|WNBA 20th Anniversary Team]] (2016)
*[[The W25|WNBA 25th Anniversary Team]] (2021)
*[[PLKK|Polish National League]] champion (2001)
*Italian Cup winner (2002)
*[[Ligue Féminine de Basketball|French National League]] champion (2005)
*[[Russian Women's Basketball Premier League|Russian National League]] champion (2007)
*[[Latvijas Basketbola līga|Latvian National League]] champion (2008)
*[[Czech Women's Basketball League|Czech National League]] champion (2011)
*[[Turkish Women's Cup Basketball|Turkish Cup]] winner (2012)
*[[EuroLeague Women|EuroLeague]] champion (2007)
*[[EuroCup Women|EuroCup]] winner (2006)
*[[Wade Trophy]] (1998)
* 2x All-American – [[Women's Basketball Coaches Association|Kodak]], [[United States Basketball Writers Association|USBWA]] (1997, 1998)
* 2x First-team All-American – [[Associated Press|AP]] (1997, 1998)
* 2x [[Colonial Athletic Association|CAA]] Player of the Year (1996, 1997)
* 3x CAA All-Defensive Team (1996, 1997, 1998)
* 4x First-team All-CAA (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998)
* CAA Freshman of the Year (1995)
* CAA All-Freshman Team (1995)
| stat1label      = [[Point (basketball)|Points]]
| stat1value      = 2,747 (6.1 ppg)
| stat2label      = [[Rebound (basketball)|Rebounds]]
| stat2value      = 1,490 (3.3 rpg)
| stat3label      = [[Assist (basketball)|Assists]]
| stat3value      = 2,599 (5.7 apg)
| stats_league    = WNBA
| wnba_profile = ticha-penicheiro
| bbr_wnba = penicti01w
| letter = p
| womensHOF = ticha-penicheiro
| FIBA_HOF_player = ticha-penicheiro
}}
'''Patrícia''' "'''Ticha'''" '''Nunes Penicheiro''' <small>[[Order of Infante D. Henrique|OIH]]</small> (September 18, 1974) is a [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] sports agent and former [[basketball]] player. She played for the [[Sacramento Monarchs]] of the [[Women's National Basketball Association]] (WNBA) for most of her professional career.<ref name=TICHAP>{{cite web| title = Ticha Penicheiro Bio at wnba web site| url = http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/ticha_penicheiro/bio.html| access-date = January 9, 2008| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070921003523/http://www.wnba.com/playerfile/ticha_penicheiro/bio.html| archive-date = September 21, 2007| df = mdy-all}}</ref> She was a four-time WNBA All-Star and a three-time [[All-WNBA Team|All-WNBA selection]]. Regarded as one of the best [[point guard]]s of all time, she ranks third all-time in career assists and led the league in assists seven times. She won a WNBA championship with the Monarchs in 2005. She was inducted into the [[Women's Basketball Hall of Fame]] in 2019.<ref name=Megargee>{{cite web|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/penicheiros-career-hall-famer-focusing-future-231108303--ncaaw.html |title=Penicheiro's new career has Hall of Famer focusing on future |first=Steve |last=Megargee |agency=Associated Press |website=Yahoo Sports |date=June 7, 2019 |access-date=June 15, 2019}}</ref>

==College years==
Penicheiro was born and raised in [[Figueira da Foz]], [[Portugal]]. Penicheiro played for several professional clubs through her teenage years, though she did not play at the senior level until after she starred for [[Old Dominion University]] [[college basketball]] team. She played at Old Dominion from 1994 to 1998 and helped lead the Lady Monarchs to the 1997 NCAA Championship game. In 1997, Penicheiro was named to the Final Four All-Tournament team.<ref name="FF Record book"/> During her playing time at ODU, Penicheiro collected 1,304 career points and finished her career as ODU's all-time steal leader with 591. She is second all-time at ODU on the career assist list to another ODU great, [[Nancy Lieberman]], with 939.  She is the [[Colonial Athletic Association|Colonial Athletic Association's]] all-time leader in both assists and steals.

Penicheiro is a two-time Kodak All-American, selected in 1997 and 1998. She became ODU's second winner of the prestigious Lifetime/Wade Trophy and the first international player to win the honor. A four-time All-CAA honoree, Ticha was named the conference's Player-of-the Year in 1995-96 and 1996-97 while also claiming the Rookie of the Year award in 1994–95. She graduated from Old Dominion in 1998 with degrees in communications and interdisciplinary studies, and was inducted into the ODU Sports Hall of Fame in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.odusports.com/trads/oldd-hof.html|title=Old Dominion University Hall of Fame Members|publisher=Old Dominion University|access-date=July 30, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521155417/http://www.odusports.com/trads/oldd-hof.html|archive-date=May 21, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

=== Old Dominion statistics ===
{{NBA player statistics legend}}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
!Year
!Team
!GP
!Points
!FG%
!3P%
!FT%
!RPG
!APG
!SPG
!BPG
!PPG
|-
|1995
|[[Old Dominion Lady Monarchs basketball|Old Dominion]]
|33
|283
|.427
|'''.333'''
|.552
|4.8
|6.2
|4.0
|0.2
|8.6
|-
|1996
|Old Dominion
|32
|284
|'''.491'''
|.289
|.671
|4.6
|7.1
|4.3
|0.3
|8.9
|-
|1997
|[[1996–97 Old Dominion Lady Monarchs basketball team|Old Dominion]]
|'''36'''
|'''393'''
|.443
|.310
|'''.649'''
|4.5
|'''7.5'''
|4.5
|'''0.3'''
|'''10.9'''
|-
|1998
|Old Dominion
|32
|344
|.408
|.328
|.629
|'''5.1'''
|7.5
|'''5.0'''
|0.2
|10.8
|-
|colspan=2 | Career
|133
|1,304
|.440
|.316
|.628
|4.7
|7.1
|4.4
|0.3
|9.8
|}

Source<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/w_basketball_RB/misc/wbbfinest.pdf|title=Women's Basketball Finest|website=fs.ncaa.org|access-date=2017-10-02}}</ref>

==WNBA career==
In 1998, Penicheiro joined the Sacramento Monarchs as a rookie, finishing third in the [[WNBA Rookie of the Year]] award voting. As a four-time [[WNBA All-Star Game|WNBA All-Star]] player, she has twice tied the WNBA's record with 16 assists in a single game. In 1999, she was selected as a WNBA first-team player. This was also the year she set her WNBA high in points, with 27 against the [[Minnesota Lynx]]. In 2001, she was selected as a member of the WNBA's second team.

She had, as of June 19, 2003, 1,027 career points in the WNBA; for an average of 6.8 per game, 1,121 assists; for a total of 7.5 per game, 615 rebounds; for a total of 4.1 per game, and 322 steals, for a total of 2.15 per game.

Penicheiro retired as the all-time WNBA leader in total assists and assists per game, although both records have since been surpassed, respectively by [[Sue Bird]] and [[Courtney Vandersloot]]. Penicheiro also holds the WNBA single-game record for most steals with 10.

After the Monarchs franchise became defunct, Penicheiro signed with the [[Los Angeles Sparks]]. In 2011, her second year with the team, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in the fifteen-year history of the WNBA.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WNBA.com: AllStar 2011|url=https://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/allstar/2011/index.html|access-date=2021-06-13|website=www.wnba.com}}</ref>

In February 2012, Penicheiro signed with the [[Chicago Sky]], but her season statistics were significantly diminished due to injuries, and on September 18, she announced that she would retire from the WNBA at the end of the 2012 season.<ref>{{cite web|title=Great Penicheiro to retire after season|url=http://articles.dailypress.com/2012-09-19/sports/dp-spt-penicheiro-20120919_1_wnba-all-decade-chicago-sky-ticha-penicheiro|work=Daily Press|access-date=September 21, 2012|location=Hampton Roads, VA|date=September 19, 2012}}</ref>

Penicheiro was inducted into the [[Virginia Sports Hall of Fame]] in 2014.

In 2016, Penicheiro was named in the [[WNBA Top 20@20]], a list of the WNBA's top 20 players of all time in celebration of the league's twentieth anniversary. She was also named to the WNBA's 25th anniversary team, [[The W25]], in 2021.

==WNBA career statistics==
{{WNBA player statistics legend}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|†
|Denotes seasons in which Penicheiro won a [[WNBA Finals|WNBA championship]]
|}

===Regular season===
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[1998 WNBA season|1998]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 30 || 30 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|'''36.0'''° || .333 || .233 || .642 || 4.7 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|7.5° || 2.2 || 0.1 || 3.87 || 6.3
|-
| align="left" | [[1999 WNBA season|1999]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 32 || 32 || 35.0 || .320 || .158 || .664 || '''4.8''' || style="background:#D3D3D3"|7.1° || 2.1 || 0.2 || 4.22 || 7.3
|-
| align="left" | [[2000 WNBA season|2000]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 30 || 30 || 31.2 || .368 || .200 || .579 || 3.0 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|7.9° || 2.3 || 0.2 || 2.37 || 6.9
|-
| align="left" | [[2001 WNBA season|2001]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 23 || 22 || 32.3 || .339 || .262 || .766 || 3.7 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|7.5° || 1.7 || '''0.4''' || 2.78 || 6.3
|-
| align="left" | [[2002 WNBA season|2002]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 24 || 24 || 35.5 || .377 || .250 || .728 || 4.3 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|'''8.0'''° || '''2.7''' || 0.0 || 2.88 || 8.5
|-
| align="left" | [[2003 WNBA season|2003]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| '''34''' || '''34''' || 32.0 || .302 || .250 || .579 || 3.5 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|6.7° || 1.8 || 0.0 || 2.38 || 5.4
|-
| align="left" | [[2004 WNBA season|2004]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 32 || 32 || 29.4 || .354 || .338 || .714 || 3.1 || 4.9 || 1.9 || 0.1 || 2.18 || 6.0
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| [[2005 WNBA season|2005]]<sup>†</sup>
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| '''34''' || 33 || 27.3 || .314 || .195 || .790 || 2.9 || 4.4 || 1.4 || 0.2 || 1.97 || 5.7
|-
| align="left" | [[2006 WNBA season|2006]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| '''34''' || '''34''' || 24.9 || .339 || .194 || .792 || 2.7 || 3.4 || 1.7 || 0.1 || 1.97 || 5.4
|-
| align="left" | [[2007 WNBA season|2007]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 32 || 32 || 23.7 || .314 || .214 || .822 || 2.6 || 4.5 || 1.5 || 0.0 || '''1.88''' || 5.7
|-
| align="left" | [[2008 WNBA season|2008]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 33 || 33 || 25.9 || .374 || .286 || .809 || 3.0 || 5.2 || 2.0 || 0.1 || 2.64 || '''8.6'''
|-
| align="left" | [[2009 WNBA season|2009]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 30 || 28 || 24.1 || .324 || .111 || .814 || 2.7 || 5.2 || 1.0 || 0.1 || 2.13 || 4.9
|-
| align="left" | [[2010 WNBA season|2010]]
| align="left" | [[Los Angeles Sparks|Los Angeles]]
| 32 || 30 || 26.3 || .410 || .111 || .819 || 4.0 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|6.9° || 1.3 || 0.1 || 2.25 || 4.9
|-
| align="left" | [[2011 WNBA season|2011]]
| align="left" | [[Los Angeles Sparks|Los Angeles]]
| '''34''' || 23 || 23.7 || '''.486''' || '''.417''' || '''.868''' || 2.8 || 4.8 || 0.8 || 0.1 || 2.09 || 6.0
|-
| align="left" | [[2012 WNBA season|2012]]
| align="left" | [[Chicago Sky|Chicago]]
| 18 || 5 || 12.8 || .375 || .200 || .545 || 1.3 || 2.1 || 0.4 || 0.2 || 2.00 || 1.8
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |15 years, 3 teams
| 453 || 422 || 28.2 || .351 || .248 || .731 || 3.3 || 5.7 || 1.7 || 0.1 || 2.50 || 6.1
{{S-end}}

===Postseason===
{{WNBA player statistics start}}
|-
| align="left" | [[WNBA Playoffs#1999 season|1999]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 1 || 1 || 20.0 || .200 || .000 || '''1.000''' || '''4.0''' || 3.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 2.00 || 4.0
|-
| align="left" | [[WNBA Playoffs#2000 season|2000]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 2 || 2 || '''38.5''' || .250 || .500 || .833 || 3.5 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|'''7.0'''° || 2.0 || 0.0 || 3.00 || 8.0
|-
| align="left" | [[WNBA Playoffs#2001 season|2001]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 5 || 5 || 32.6 || .250 || .368 || '''1.000''' || 3.8 || style="background:#D3D3D3"|6.6° || 0.6 || '''0.8''' || 1.80 || 6.2
|-
| align="left" | [[WNBA Playoffs#2003 season|2003]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 6 || 6 || 23.8 || .333 || .250 || .875 || 2.3 || 3.0 || 1.0 || 0.5 || '''1.17''' || 4.2
|-
| align="left" | [[WNBA Playoffs#2004 season|2004]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 6 || 6 || 32.2 || .222 || .133 || .688 || 3.3 || 5.3 || '''2.5''' || 0.3 || 3.17 || 4.2
|-
|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| [[WNBA Playoffs#2005 season|2005]]<sup>†</sup>
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 6 || 6 || 27.0 || .323 || .000 || .800 || '''4.0''' || 5.2 || 1.0 || 0.2 || 2.33 || 5.3
|-
| align="left" | [[WNBA Playoffs#2006 season|2006]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| '''9''' || '''9''' || 23.8 || .294 || .286 || .647 || 2.3 || 3.8 || 1.2 || 0.0 || 1.22 || 5.0
|-
| align="left" | [[WNBA Playoffs#2007 season|2007]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 3 || 3 || 23.0 || .273 || .000 || .600 || 2.3 || 5.0 || 2.3 || 0.0 || 3.33 || 6.0
|-
| align="left" | [[WNBA Playoffs#2008 season|2008]]
| align="left" | [[Sacramento Monarchs|Sacramento]]
| 3 || 3 || 31.3 || '''.486''' || '''.750''' || .667 || '''4.0''' || style="background:#D3D3D3"|6.3° || 2.3 || 0.3 || 1.67 || '''13.7'''
|-
| align="left" | [[WNBA Playoffs#2010 season|2010]]
| align="left" | [[Los Angeles Sparks|Los Angeles]]
| 2 || 2 || 29.5 || .455 || .000 || '''1.000''' || 2.5 || 2.5 || '''2.5''' || 0.0 || 3.00 || 6.0
|-
| align="left" | Career
| align="left" |10 years, 2 teams
| 43 || 43 || 27.7 || .314 || .288 || .747 || 3.1 || 4.7 || 1.5 || 0.3 || 2.07 || 5.8
{{s-end}}

==International career==
Penicheiro was a member of Portugal's national women's basketball team. She was also on the Spartak Moscow Region team, with [[Tina Thompson]], [[Sue Bird]], and [[Diana Taurasi]]. She played for [[Galatasaray women's basketball team|Galatasaray Medical Park]] of [[Turkey]] in the 2011–12 season.<ref>{{Cite web|title=GALATASARAY.ORG|url=https://www.galatasaray.org/anasayfa|access-date=2021-06-13|website=www.galatasaray.org}}</ref>

==Later career==
When inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019, she was an active agent with about 30 clients, among them current WNBA players [[Kayla McBride]] and [[Courtney Vandersloot]].<ref name=Megargee/>

==Personal life==
Penicheiro is a supporter of the Special Olympics. She also supports ovarian cancer research in honor of one of her close friends who was diagnosed with the disease. Besides her native [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], she speaks English, Spanish and conversational Italian. Her father, João, is a former basketball player and now coaches her older brother, Paulo, who plays professionally in Portugal. She became an aunt when her brother and sister-in-law gave birth to their son João Miguel in 2009. Penicheiro also enjoys listening to R&B music and Hip-Hop and is an avid collector of watches and clothes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.interbasket.net/players/ticha.htm|title = Ticha Penicheiro, Portugal ...player profiles by Interbasket}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=WNBA.com: Ticha Penicheiro Playoff Mailbag|url=https://www.wnba.com/archive/wnba/playoffs2006/Penicheiro_Playoff_Mailbag.html|access-date=2021-06-13|website=www.wnba.com}}</ref>

On February 20, 2013, Penicheiro became an American citizen, taking the oath with 1,200 others at the Sacramento Convention Center.<ref>{{cite web|last=Chang|first=Richard|title=Ex-Sacramento Monarch Ticha Penicheiro adds citizenship to All-Star status|url=http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/20/5204956/ex-sacramento-monarch-ticha-penicheiro.html|work=The Sacramento Bee|access-date=22 February 2013|date=21 February 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224053442/http://www.sacbee.com/2013/02/20/5204956/ex-sacramento-monarch-ticha-penicheiro.html|archive-date=February 24, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="FF Record book">{{cite web|last=Nixon|first=Rick|title=Official 2022 NCAA Women's Final Four Records Book|url=http://www.ncaapublications.com/productdownloads/WFF12.pdf|publisher=NCAA|access-date=April 22, 2012}}</ref>

}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{Official website|1=http://www.tichapenicheiro.com}}
* {{Basketballstats|wnba=ticha-penicheiro}}

{{navboxes|list=
{{Sacramento Monarchs 2005 WNBA Champions}}
{{Coastal Athletic Association Women's Basketball Player of the Year navbox}}
{{1998 WNBA draft}}
{{WNBA All-Decade Team}}
{{WNBA Top 15 Team}}
{{WNBA Top 20 Team}}
{{The W25}}
{{Wade Trophy}}
{{WNBA assists leaders}}
{{WBC Spartak Moscow Region 2006–07 Euroleague Women champions}}
{{Women's Basketball Hall of Fame}}
{{FIBA Hall of Fame}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penicheiro, Ticha}}
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:All-American college women's basketball players]]
[[Category:American people of Portuguese descent]]
[[Category:American sports agents]]
[[Category:Chicago Sky players]]
[[Category:FIBA Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Galatasaray S.K. (women's basketball) players]]
[[Category:Los Angeles Sparks players]]
[[Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States]]
[[Category:Old Dominion Monarchs women's basketball players]]
[[Category:People from Figueira da Foz]]
[[Category:Point guards]]
[[Category:Portuguese emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Portuguese expatriate basketball people in Russia]]
[[Category:Portuguese expatriate basketball people in Turkey]]
[[Category:Portuguese expatriate basketball people in the United States]]
[[Category:Portuguese women's basketball players]]
[[Category:Sacramento Monarchs players]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Coimbra District]]
[[Category:WNBA All-Stars]]