Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (born April 11, 1991) 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. She played for the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was ...

and 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 ...

in the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. The league comprises 13 teams (scheduled to expand to 15 in 2026). The WNBA is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. The WNBA w ...

(WNBA). She played college basketball at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

and attended T. C. Williams High School in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...

College statistics

Source

Professional career

Ruffin-Pratt joined the

training camp roster in May 2013 after going undrafted in the 2013 WNBA draft. In her rookie season, she played 34 games off the bench and averaged 4.4 ppg That year the Mystics made the playoffs finishing 3rd place in the Eastern Conference with a 17–17 record but were eliminated 2–1 in the first round by the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Dream compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team was founded for the ...

. In her second season, Ruffin-Pratt continued her bench role with her playing time slightly increased. She averaged 4.5 ppg in 34 games and 6 starts. The Mystics were third place in the Eastern Conference yet again with a 16–18 record, but were eliminated in a 2-game sweep by the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Fever compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team was founded for ...

. In the 2015 season, Ruffin-Pratt became the starting shooting guard for the Mystics. She played 32 games with 31 starts and averaged a career-high in scoring. Ruffin-Pratt scored a career-high 20 points in an 84–80 win against the

on June 23, 2015. The Mystics made the playoffs finishing 4th place in the Eastern Conference with an 18–16 record and were a first round exit yet again as they were defeated 2-1 by the

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 ...

. In the 2016 season, Ruffin-Pratt moved to small forward in the Mystics starting lineup in order to make room for

Tayler Hill Tayler Hill (born October 23, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Hill previously played for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball ...

at shooting guard. Ruffin-Pratt averaged 7.3 ppg in her new role at the wing, but the Mystics finished 13-21 and were eliminated from playoff contention. In 2017, Ruffin-Pratt re-signed with the Mystics once her rookie contract expired. During the 2017 season, Ruffin-Pratt started in all 34 games for the first time in her career. She briefly played the small forward role in the Mystics starting lineup during one of their starters' absence. After Hill tore her ACL, Ruffin-Pratt moved back to shooting guard. She averaged 7.3 ppg and the Mystics made the playoffs with an 18–16 record and the number 6 seed in the league following the league's new playoff format the previous season. The Mystics advanced all the way to the semi-finals after defeating the

Dallas Wings The Dallas Wings are an American professional basketball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Wings compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. The team is owned by a group ...

and

in the first and second round elimination games, marking the first time in franchise history the Mystics advanced past the second round. In the semi-finals, the

Minnesota Lynx The Minnesota Lynx are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team won the WNBA ...

defeated the Mystics in a 3-game sweep. In 2018, Ruffin-Pratt was a role player for the Mystics, occasionally starting and coming off the bench. Her contributions helped the Mystics to a 22–12 record and the number 3 seed in the league. They received a bye to the second round. In the second round elimination game, they defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 96–64 to advance to the semi-finals for the second year in a row. In the semi-finals, the Mystics defeated the Atlanta Dream in five games to advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. In the Finals, the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

swept the Mystics. In 2019, Ruffin-Pratt signed with the

. She would immediately enter the Sparks' starting lineup. Ruffin-Pratt started in 33 of the 34 games played during the season, the Sparks finished 22–12 with the number 3 seed, receiving a bye to the second round. In the second round elimination game, the Sparks defeated the defending champion

92–69 to advance to the semi-finals. In the semi-finals, the Sparks would lose to the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. The Sun compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference (WNBA), Eastern Conference. The team i ...

in a three-game sweep. In 2020, the season was delayed and shortened to 22 games in a bubble due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Ruffin-Pratt played 17 games with 10 starts, missing a few games with a shoulder injury. The Sparks were the number 3 seed with a 15–7 record, receiving a bye to the second round elimination game, but were once again eliminated by the Connecticut Sun. On May 22, 2022, Ruffin-Pratt announced her retirement of professional basketball.

WNBA career statistics

WNBA regular season

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Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, 34 , , 0 , , 14.8 , , .359 , , .143 , , .783 , , 2.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 4.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 6 , , 16.2 , , .383 , , .250 , , .705 , , 2.9 , , 1.3 , , 0.7 , , 0.1 , , 4.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 31 , , 23.9 , , .371 , , .326 , , .759 , , 3.0 , , 2.2 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 7.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 32 , , 31 , , 24.4 , , .369 , , .320 , , .747 , , 4.5 , , 2.6 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 34 , , 34 , , 24.3 , , .337 , , .000 , , .738 , , 5.3 , , 2.3 , , 1.0 , , 0.5 , , 7.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 10 , , 18.1 , , .341 , , .314 , , .855 , , 2.0 , , 1.5 , , 0.6 , , 0.2 , , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 34 , , 33 , , 25.2 , , .367 , , .342 , , .854 , , 2.4 , , 1.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.6 , , 6.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 17 , , 10 , , 14.5 , , .267 , , .462 , , .731 , , 2.1 , , 0.9 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 2.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 250 , , 155 , , 20.5 , , .357 , , .318 , , .768 , , 3.2 , , 1.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.3 , , 5.8

WNBA postseason

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2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

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, , 3, , 0, , 15.0, , .385, , .000, , .583, , 2.0, , 0.7, , 1.0, , 0.0, , 5.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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, , 2, , 0, , 10.6, , .000, , .000, , 1.000, , 3.5, , 1.0, , 0.0, , 0.5, , 1.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

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, , 3, , 3, , 26.9, , .333, , .333, , 1.000, , 3.7, , 3.7, , 1.6, , 0.0, , 8.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

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, , 5, , 5, , 26.8, , .457, , .000, , .824, , 5.0, , 2.4, , 0.6, , 0.8, , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

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, , 9, , 0, , 17.4, , .385, , .235, , 1.000, , 2.2, , 0.8, , 0.7, , 0.3, , 5.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

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, , 4, , 4, , 18.0, , .280 , , .182 , , .857 , , 1.8, , 2.0, , 0.5, , 0.8, , 5.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

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, , 1, , 0, , 13.0, , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0, , 3.0, , 0.0, , 1.0, , 0.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Career , 27 , , 12 , , 19.4 , , .358 , , .216 , , .800 , , 2.9 , , 1.7 , , 0.7 , , 0.4 , , 5.9

References

External links

North Carolina Tar Heels bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffin-Pratt, Tierra 1991 births Living people American women's basketball players Basketball players from Alexandria, Virginia Guards (basketball) Los Angeles Sparks players North Carolina Tar Heels women's basketball players Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players Washington Mystics players T. C. Williams High School alumni 21st-century African-American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen