Penny Toler

Last updated
Penny Toler
Penny Toler SDSU (cropped).png
Toler with the San Diego State Aztecs c. 1985
Personal information
Born (1966-03-24) March 24, 1966 (age 58)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Listed height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Listed weight132 lb (60 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt. Anthony (Washington, D.C.)
College
Playing career1989–1999
Position Point guard
Number11
Coaching career2014–2014
Career history
As player:
1989–1991Montecchio
1991–1994Pescara
1994–1996Sporting Flash
1996–1997Ramat HaSharon
1997–1999 Los Angeles Sparks
As coach:
2014 Los Angeles Sparks (interim)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Virginia Marlita "Penny" Toler (born March 24, 1966) is an American basketball executive and former player who served most recently as the general manager of the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Toler holds the distinction of scoring the first field-goal and the first free throw in WNBA history.

Contents

As of 2023, Toler is one of only two players to have their jersey retired by the Sparks, the other being Lisa Leslie. [1]

College years

Toler began her college career with the San Diego State Aztecs, joining a squad led by Tina Hutchinson. [2] Toler then sat out a year after transferring to Long Beach State, where she became an All-American. During her career Long Beach State made it to the Final Four twice, in 1987 and 1988. Toler was considered one of the best ever collegiate players under future Hall of Fame coach Joan Bonvicini. In 1995 she was inducted into the Long Beach State Athletic Hall of Fame.

Long Beach State statistics

Source [3]

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high
YearTeamGPPointsPPGFG%FT%
1986–87 Long Beach State 3678721.954.5%77.0%
1987–88Long Beach State3067522.550.8%78.3%
1988–89Long Beach State3573120.949.7%81.9%
Career1012,19321.751.7%79.5%

Professional career

Having no viable domestic professional options, Toler began her professional career in Italy, playing two seasons for Montecchio and three for Pescara. She then played two seasons in Greece for Sporting Flash, and one in Israel for Ramat HaSharon.

WNBA

In 1997, she returned to the United States to play in the newly organized WNBA. [4] Toler was allocated to the Los Angeles Sparks during the player initiation round in the 1997 WNBA draft. She is most commonly remembered as the first player to score a basket in the WNBA. She did so against the New York Liberty on June 21, 1997 19:01 hour at the Los Angeles Great Western Forum. [5] [6] [7] Her shot was a side jumper. Toler also made the first free throw in the WNBA history. In that debut game, Toler recorded 15 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound and 1 steal with the Sparks losing the game 57 - 67. [8]

Toler played 3 seasons with the Sparks, averaging 10 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4 assists in 88 games. From 1997 to 1999, the Sparks only made the playoffs during the 1999 season after finishing with a 20 - 12 record. They matched up against the Sacramento Monarchs in the first round and won the single game elimination, but lost 2 - 1 in the Western Conference Finals by the Houston Comets. In that series versus the Comets, Toler averaged 2.6 points, 1.3 assists in 25.4 minutes a game.

In November 1999 she retired as a player. Her final WNBA game was Game 3 of the previously mentioned Western Conference Finals against the Comets. That game was played on August 30, 1999 and the Sparks would lose 62 - 72 with Toler recording 1 point and 2 rebounds. [9]

Post-Playing Career

She became a general manager for the Los Angeles Sparks and immediately after taking on a management role, she would assemble the Los Angeles Sparks roster that would become the championship team in 2001.

On July 20, 2014, Toler was named as interim head coach of the Sparks following the firing of Carol Ross. [10] She stayed as Head Coach until the end of 2014 when Brian Agler took over on January 5, 2015. She helped coach the Sparks to a playoff appearance in 2014 but they were swept 2- 0 by the Phoenix Mercury in the Semi-Finals.

Toler was fired as vice president and general manager on October 4, 2019, after the Sparks were swept out of the WNBA Semi-Finals during the 2019 WNBA Playoffs. [11] The move also came after the revelation that Toler entered the Sparks' locker room following their Game 2 loss and gave an obscenity-laced speech that included the use of the "N-word". [12]

International career

By the time the WNBA launched, Toler had already spent eight years playing basketball overseas. She has played five seasons in Italy, two seasons in Greece, and a season in Israel. While in Italy, she won a scoring title, two assist titles, and was MVP of the Italian all-star game.

Career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game FG%  Field-goal percentage 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold Career best°League leader

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
1997 Los Angeles 282832.4.426.184.8393.45.11.30.13.813.1
1998 Los Angeles 303031.5.415.417.7433.54.81.10.13.312.3
1999 Los Angeles 30414.2.340.154.8671.42.20.40.01.34.8
Career3 years, 1 team886225.9.406.306.8112.84.00.90.12.810.0

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGTOPPG
1999 Los Angeles 4010.5.333.000.5001.50.50.50.00.82.5

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References

  1. ↑ "Penny Toler, Former Player and Executive VP and GM of the Los Angeles Sparks". 5 January 2021.
  2. ↑ Kenney, Kirk (November 8, 1984). "Aztec Women Seeking No. 1 Spot". The Los Angeles Times. Sec. III, pp. 1, 16 . Retrieved March 28, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "2020-2021 Women's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). longbeachstate.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  4. ↑ 1998 Official WNBA Guide and Register. WNBA. 1998. pp. 294–95.
  5. ↑ "Penny Toler recalls landmark WNBA basket - ESPN Video". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  6. ↑ "WNBA.com: WNBA History/Timeline". www.wnba.com. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  7. ↑ Bowman, James (2014-01-19). "Sparks Watch Day 18: The first WNBA game". Swish Appeal. Retrieved 2016-06-17.
  8. ↑ "New York Liberty at Los Angeles Sparks, June 21, 1997".
  9. ↑ "Los Angeles Sparks at Houston Comets, August 30, 1999".
  10. ↑ Associated Press, "Penny Toler to take over as coach," ESPN (July 22, 2014). Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  11. ↑ ESPN Newswire (2019-10-04). "Sparks part with GM Penny Toler amid turmoil". ESPN.com . Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  12. ↑ Brehm, Mike; Bumbaca, Chris (October 4, 2019). "Los Angeles Sparks fire general manager Penny Toler after she used racial slur". USA Today. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
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