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Ryneldi Becenti

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Ryneldi Becenti
Personal information
Born (1971-08-11) August 11, 1971 (age 53)
Fort Defiance, Arizona, U.S.
Career information
High schoolWindow Rock
(Fort Defiance, Arizona)
College
PositionGuard
Career history
1997Phoenix Mercury
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference
Medals
Women's Basketball
Representing USA
World University Games
Bronze medal – third place 1993 New York Team Competition

Ryneldi Becenti (born August 11, 1971) is a retired American professional basketball player. She became the first Native American to play in the WNBA when she played for the Phoenix Mercury in 1997.[1]

High school

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Becenti attended Window Rock High School in Fort Defiance, Arizona, and in 1989, Scottsdale Community College in Phoenix. She was the country's top junior college point guard in 1990–91, and left Scottsdale a two-time NJCAA All-American.[1]

College

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Becenti was an All-Pac 10 First Team selection in both her seasons at Arizona State University, and a two-time honorable mention All-America honoree. She also turned out for the US at the 1993 World University Games in Buffalo, New York, where her team won the bronze medal.[1][2][3]

Professional career

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In 1995, Becenti was playing professional basketball in Sweden. She also played in Greece and, briefly, Turkey. She was the first Native American woman to play professional basketball for a foreign nation.[4] In 1997, she signed with the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA as a free agent and played in their inaugural season. In 1998, she was drafted by the Chicago Condors in the American Basketball League.[5][6][7]

Honors

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In 1996, she became the first and only female basketball player to be inducted into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.[1]

in 2013, she was the first women's basketball player to have her jersey (No. 21) retired by ASU.[2]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games 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

WNBA

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Source[8]

Regular season

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
1997 Phoenix 1 0 8.0 – – – .0 .0 1.0 .0 1.0 .0

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
1991–92 Arizona State 29 - - 36.6 28.1 68.9 4.6 6.9 2.9 0.2 - 13.2
1992–93 Arizona State 27 - - 37.9 34.0 72.9 3.5 7.2 2.6 0.1 - 14.0
Career 56 - - 37.3 31.3 70.3 4.1 7.1 2.8 0.2 - 13.6
Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Prominent American Indian Athletes:Ryneldi Becenti". Mesa Community College. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "ASU women's basketball will honor Ryneldi Becenti". AZ Central. December 21, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  3. ^ "Sixteenth World University Games – 1993". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  4. ^ Hirschfelder, Arlene; Molin, Paulette F. (2012). The Extraordinary Book of Native American Lists. pg. 420. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810877108.
  5. ^ "Arizona State retires Becenti's number". AZ Central. December 21, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  6. ^ "Native American Women in the WNBA; Schimmel to Join Elite Company". nativenewsonline.net. April 9, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  7. ^ "History of The American Basketball Leange: ABL Drafts 1996 - 1998". apbr.org. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  8. ^ "Ryneldi Becenti WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Ryneldi Becenti College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
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