1. Virginia Marlita "Penny" Toler was born on March 24,1966 and 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.
20 Facts About Penny Toler
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Penny Toler began her college career with the San Diego State Aztecs, joining a squad led by Tina Hutchinson.
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Penny Toler then sat out a year after transferring to Long Beach State, where she became an All-American.
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Penny Toler was considered one of the best ever collegiate players under future Hall of Fame coach Joan Bonvicini.
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Penny Toler then played two seasons in Greece for Sporting Flash, and one in Israel for Ramat HaSharon.
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Penny Toler was allocated to the Los Angeles Sparks during the player initiation round in the 1997 WNBA draft.
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Penny Toler is most commonly remembered as the first player to score a basket in the WNBA.
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Penny Toler did so against the New York Liberty on June 21,1997 19:01 hour at the Los Angeles Great Western Forum.
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Penny Toler made the first free throw in the WNBA history.
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In that debut game, Penny Toler recorded 15 points, 4 assists, 1 rebound and 1 steal with the Sparks losing the game 57 - 67.
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Penny Toler played 3 seasons with the Sparks, averaging 10 points, 2.8 rebounds and 4 assists in 88 games.
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In that series versus the Comets, Penny Toler averaged 2.6 points, 1.3 assists in 25.4 minutes a game.
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That game was played on August 30,1999 and the Sparks would lose 62 - 72 with Penny Toler recording 1 point and 2 rebounds.
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Penny Toler 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.
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On July 20,2014, Penny Toler was named as interim head coach of the Sparks following the firing of Carol Ross.
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Penny Toler stayed as Head Coach until the end of 2014 when Brian Agler took over on January 5,2015.
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Penny Toler helped coach the Sparks to a playoff appearance in 2014 but they were swept 2- 0 by the Phoenix Mercury in the Semi-Finals.
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Penny 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.
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The move came after the revelation that Penny 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".
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Penny Toler has played five seasons in Italy, two seasons in Greece, and a season in Israel.