Erika Yaneth Valek (born April 9, 1982) is a former college basketball player for the

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname ...

High school

Born in Bucaramanga, Colombia to Janeth and Juan Carlos Valek, she played for Lubbock Coronado High School in Lubbock, Texas, where she was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 2000 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored six points.

College

Valek, a point guard, won the

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law, was establi ...

as the best women's college basketball player under 5'8" in 2004. She was also named to the 2003 All-

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

team and the 2003 NCAA East Regional all-tournament team.

Purdue statistics

Source

Professional

She was drafted in the

2004 WNBA draft The 2004 in sports, 2004 WNBA draft was the eighth draft in the WNBA's history. It took place on April 17, 2004, at the NBA Entertainment Studios in Secaucus, NJ. Additionally, on January 6, 2004, the WBNA held a 2004 WNBA dispersal draft, disp ...

by the

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. Th ...

and was traded with college teammate Shereka Wright and Sheila Lambert for

Chandi Jones Chandi Jones (born March 25, 1982) is a professional basketball player. Jones is the daughter of Janice and David Jones , a former professional football player who later became a collegiate basketball coach. High school Born in Wharton, Texas, Jo ...

in a draft day deal to the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. One of eight original franchises, it wa ...

. Valek, however, was cut by the Mercury before the regular season and did not play for the team.

Notes

External links

Purdue profile
1982 births Living people Colombian women's basketball players Coronado High School (Lubbock, Texas) alumni Sportspeople from Bucaramanga Point guards Purdue Boilermakers women's basketball players Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Colombia Competitors at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in basketball {{Colombia-sport-bio-stub