Heidi Burge
Harbor City, California, U.S. | |||||||||
Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
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Listed weight | 178 lb (81 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school | Palos Verdes (Palos Verdes Estates, California) | ||||||||
College | Virginia (1989–1993) | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
1997 | Los Angeles Sparks | ||||||||
1998 | Washington Mystics | ||||||||
Medals
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Heidi Ann Horton (
Early life
As a 5-month-old in 1972, Heidi Burge was found to have a second
Prior to starting high school, the Burge family moved to Palos Verdes Estates, California so that the sisters could attend Palos Verdes High School. Although Burge was not originally interested in playing basketball, as she preferred theater and volleyball, after being asked to try out by the ladies basketball coach her freshman year, she quickly fell in love with the game. Burge brought success to the team, transforming the Sea Kings into Southern Section 3-A champions in 1987 and concluding her high-school career second on the school's all-time list of girls' scorers with 1,183 points.[2]
After graduation, both sisters accepted scholarships to attend the University of Virginia and play for the Lady Cavaliers basketball team. Although the pair would attend the same school, they did not live together or even have the same circle of friends. The Burges also did not play the same position on the court, as Heidi preferred the outside game and Heather (who is 6 minutes older)[3] played inside against the opposing team's center and was the go-to scorer in the paint.[4]
College
UVA won right away, with Burge averaging 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds a game her freshman year,
Things did not always go smoothly for the Burges in their freshman and sophomore seasons, as the pair were frequently in foul trouble, rarely played at the same time on the court (due to their foul situation), fought with teammates and each other, and were considered by their teammates to be both "soft" and prone to mistakes and turnovers.[3]
However, during their time with UVA, the pair averaged 24 points and seven rebounds per game and teamed with NCAA All-Americans
While at UVA, Burge was a three-year member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll (1991–1993).[7] As of May 2011, Burge was tied for third in career games played with 134, sixth in rebounds with 853 boards, sixth in blocked shots with 108 blocks, twelfth in career double-doubles with 14, and 21st in career scoring, with 1,191 points.[6]
After graduating with a bachelor's degree with a dual major in
WNBA
Following her season in Greece, Burge accepted an offer to play in the newly formed Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for the Los Angeles Sparks alongside four-time Olympic gold medal winner Lisa Leslie.[10] Her debut game was played on June 25, 1997 in a 74 - 54 win over the Charlotte Sting where she recorded 1 point, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals and 1 block.[11] Although the team led the league in scoring (with 74 points per game) and were fourth (out of eight teams) in defensive rating, the Sparks finished a disappointing 14-14 and out of the playoff picture.[12]
On February 18, 1998,
Burge's final game in the WNBA was played on August 19, 1998 in a 69 - 105 blowout loss to the Charlotte Sting where she recorded 5 points, 1 rebound and 2 steals.[17]
Among the highlights of her WNBA career was a game-high 11 rebounds and nine points against the Phoenix Mercury in 1997, a 14-point, 9 rebound effort in a 75–68 victory over the Utah Starzz the same year, and a career-high 19 points against the Mercury in August 1998.[9] Upon retirement, one of Burge's biggest professional disappointments was that she was never able to play with or against Heather.
USA Basketball
Burge was named to the USA team for the 1993
Post-retirement
After leaving basketball in January 2000, Burge moved to
At 6 feet 5 inches each, the Burges sisters were recognized in 1991 by Guinness World Records as the world's tallest female twins. This record was broken in 2004 by Ann and Claire Recht. The Disney television movie Double Teamed, which was released in 2002, is based on their life stories and achievements in high school basketball. In the movie, Burge is played by Annie McElwain.
WNBA career statistics
Season | Age | Team | GP | GS | MIN | FG% | 3P% | FT% | OFF | DEF | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1997 | 26 | Sparks | 22 | 6 | 12.8 | .444 | .000 | .511 | 1.0 | 2.1 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 0.55 | 0.55 | 1.14 | 2.4 | 4.0 |
1998 | 27 | Mystics | 30 | 15 | 16.7 | .509 | .286 | .597 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.53 | 0.5 | 2.43 | 3.1 | 6.7 |
See also
References
- ^ Wright, Ken (28 May 1998). "Former Virginia Star Heidi Burge Set to Be Center of Attention for Mystics". The Washington Times. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ^ a b Thomas, Pete (1990-03-30). "The Real Twin Towers Play for Virginia : Women's Final Four: Heidi and Heather Burge help Cavaliers to semifinal game against Stanford tonight". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ^ a b c Munoz, Theresa (1992-04-04). "COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA TOURNAMENTS : Alike, Different : Identical Twins Heather, Heidi Burge Succeed in Their Quest to Be Individuals". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ^ Anderson, Kelli (1993-02-01). "Double Trouble". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ^ "Women's All-Time U. S. Olympic Festival Roster by Affiliation". USA Basketball. 2013-09-25. Archived from the original on 2013-02-25. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ^ a b c "Virginia 2015-16 Cavalier Basketball" (PDF). Virginia Cavaliers. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
- ^ "Virginia Women's Basketball: Honors and Awards". www.virginiasports.com. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ "Virginia Women's Basketball: Alumnae Bios". www.virginiasports.com. Retrieved 2016-01-15.
- ^ a b "Burge Heidi". Women's Sports Foundation. Archived from the original on 26 March 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ "SPARKS: 1997 Sparks Regular Statistics". Wnba.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ^ https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199706250LAS.html
- ^ "1997 WNBA Season Summary". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ^ "Today in WNBA History". Today in Sport. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ^ "MYSTICS: 1998 Mystics Regular Statistics". Wnba.com. Archived from the original on 2013-10-12. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ^ "1998 Washington Mystics Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ^ "Heidi Burge WNBA Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. 1971-11-11. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
- ^ https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199808190WAS.html
- ^ "Sixteenth World University Games -- 1993". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- ^ Barnes, Lindsay (29 January 2009). "COVER STORIES COVER- Wahoo where? What's your favorite Cavalier sports legend doing now?". The Hook. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
- ^ "Reach Classes" (PDF). Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 20 November 2013.