Cheryl Ford (born June 6, 1981) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. As a member of 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 ...

, she won the WNBA championship three times.

Early life and education

Cheryl Ford is the daughter of Bonita Ford and former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

player

Karl Malone Karl Anthony Malone (born July 24, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Mailman", he is considered one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history. Malone spen ...

. She has a twin brother named Daryl and a half brother, former NFL offensive tackle Demetress Bell. Malone's paternity was established as the result of a drawn-out paternity suit. Ford played for Summerfield High School in Summerfield, Louisiana, where she was named a WBCA All-American. She participated in the 1999 WBCA High School All-America Game, where she scored two points.

College career

Ford was a standout collegiate player at

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...

. In 2003, she was named to the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Honorable Mention team. She was also named the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

"Player of the Year" in 2002 and 2003.

Louisiana Tech statistics

Professional career

In 2003, Ford was drafted as the No. 3 overall pick in the first round by the

in the

WNBA draft The WNBA draft is an annual draft (sports), draft held by the Women's National Basketball Association, WNBA through which WNBA teams can select new players from a talent pool of college and List of WNBA players, professional women's basketball p ...

. In just her first year in the league, Ford led the Shock from worst to the best record and a WNBA championship in 2003. She is the first player to have won the

WNBA Rookie of the Year Award The Women's National Basketball Association's Rookie of the Year Award is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the 1998 WNBA season, to the top rookie of the regular season. The winner is selected by a panel o ...

and a WNBA championship in the same year. Afterwards, she played for the Dallas Fury in the

National Women's Basketball League The National Women's Basketball League, often abbreviated to the NWBL, was an organization governing professional basketball leagues for women in the United States. The league was founded in 1997 and began play in the Fall of that year. The leagu ...

(NWBL) under Coach

Nancy Lieberman Nancy Ilizabeth Lieberman (born July 1, 1958), nicknamed "Lady Magic", is an American former professional basketball player and coach in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) who is currently a broadcaster for the Oklahoma City Thun ...

. Ford spent the 2005–06 season in Israel, playing for Anda Ramat Hasharon. On July 15, 2007, Ford won the WNBA All-Star Game MVP Award in Washington, D.C. when the East beat the West 103–99. Ford missed the rest of the

2008 WNBA season The 2008 WNBA season was the 12th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It was the first WNBA season with a franchise in Atlanta as the Dream were announced in late 2007. No WNBA All-Star Game was held due to the 2008 Summer Oly ...

due to an

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation. In ...

injury in her right knee, sustained on July 22, 2008 during a game against the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team plays its home games at Crypto.co ...

. A brawl had broken out and Ford sustained the injury while attempting to restrain her teammate. During the

2009 WNBA season The 2009 WNBA season was the 13th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It is the first WNBA season without a Houston franchise, the Houston Comets, Comets having folded in December 2008. The season ended with the Phoenix Mercury ...

, Ford averaged 7.4 rebounds per game and 8.6 points per game. In January 2010, Ford signed a deal with Polish team CCC Aquapark Polkowice from 1st division league Ford Germaz Ekstraklasa ( PLKK). Ford spent the 2011–12 season with Beretta Famila Schio, averaging 11.3 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. On September 12, 2012, The Canik Belediyesi basketball club was announced as having signed Ford, as well as

New York Liberty The New York Liberty are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Liberty compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Confer ...

veteran Janel McCarville. In March 2013, she signed with the

. She missed most of the preseason due to a left knee injury, appearing in one preseason game before being released in June.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" ,

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, align="left" ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, 32 , , 32 , , 29.9 , , .474 , , .000 , , .682 , , 10.4 , , 0.8 , , 1.0 , , 1.0 , , 2.47 , , 10.8 , - , align="left" ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, align="left" ,

, 31 , , 31 , , 29.4 , , .411 , , .000 , , .589 , , 9.6 , , 1.1 , , 1.3 , , 0.8 , , 1.74 , , 10.6 , - , align="left" ,

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, align="left" ,

, 33 , , 33 , , 28.2 , , .430 , , .000 , , .487 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 9.8° , , 0.8 , , 1.0 , , 1.4 , , 2.09 , , 9.5 , - , align="left" ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, align="left" ,

, 32 , , 32 , , 28.7 , , .498 , , .000 , , .648 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 11.3° , , 1.4 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 1.81 , , 13.8 , - , align="left" ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, align="left" ,

, 15 , , 15 , , 30.7 , , .497 , , .000 , , .639 , , 11.2 , , 1.5 , , 1.9 , , 0.7 , , 2.80 , , 13.0 , - , align="left" ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, align="left" ,

, 24 , , 24 , , 26.5 , , .481 , , .000 , , .560 , , 8.7 , , 0.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 0.96 , , 10.1 , - , align="left" ,

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, align="left" ,

, 29 , , 29 , , 26.0 , , .427 , , .000 , , .550 , , 7.4 , , 0.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.4 , , 1.69 , , 8.6 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 7 years, 1 team , 196 , , 196 , , 28.4 , , .457 , , .000 , , .595 , , 9.7 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 0.8 , , 1.91 , , 10.8

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 8 , , 8 , , 29.0 , , .324 , , .000 , , .826 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 10.0° , , 0.5 , , 1.4 , , 0.8 , , 1.25 , , 8.4 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 3 , , 3 , , 37.0 , , .447 , , .000 , , .636 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 10.7° , , 0.3 , , 1.3 , , 2.3 , , 2.67 , , 16.0 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 2 , , 2 , , 24.5 , , .444 , , .000 , , .600 , , 7.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 1.0 , , 1.50 , , 9.5 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 10 , , 10 , , 28.7 , , .523 , , .000 , , .750 , , style="background:#D3D3D3", 10.3° , , 1.2 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 1.90 , , 13.4 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 10 , , 8 , , 22.8 , , .415 , , .000 , , .455 , , 9.2 , , 0.4 , , 0.5 , , 0.3 , , 1.40 , , 6.9 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" ,

, 5 , , 5 , , 29.6 , , .448 , , .000 , , .813 , , 10.0 , , 1.2 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 3.60 , , 7.8 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 6 years, 1 team , 38 , , 36 , , 27.8 , , .433 , , .000 , , .684 , , 9.8 , , 0.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 1.89 , , 9.9

National team career

Ford was named to the National team representing the USA at the 2006 World Championships, held in

Barueri Barueri ( or ) is a Brazilian municipality in the State of São Paulo located in the northwestern part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 276,982 (2020 est.) in an area of . Its boundaries are Santana de Parnaíba to ...

and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The team won eight of their nine contests, but the lone loss came in the semifinal medal round to Russia. The USA beat Brazil in the final game to earn the bronze medal. Ford averaged 3.4 points per game.

References

External links

WNBA profile
at WNBA.com

at Basketball-Reference.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Cheryl 1981 births Living people American women's basketball players Basketball players from Louisiana Centers (basketball) Detroit Shock players Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters basketball players People from Homer, Louisiana WNBA All-Stars United States women's national basketball team players National Women's Basketball League players