Tiffany Jackson, Liberty's 2007 First-Round Pick, Passes at 37
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Basketball star and coach Tiffany Jackson passed away on Monday after battling breast cancer. Jackson's passing at the age of 37 was confirmed by her alma mater, the University of Texas.
Jackson partook in eight WNBA seasons, her first four with the New York Liberty, arriving in Manhattan as the fifth overall pick of the 2007 WNBA Draft.
"The New York Liberty join the greater women’s basketball community in mourning the loss of Tiffany Jackson," the team said in a statement. "Her years of service in New York (2007 – 2010) helped contribute to the passionate and gritty identity of today’s team, and we honor her valiant fight both on and off the court. Our deepest and most heartfelt condolences are with her loved ones during this challenging time."
Jackson appeared in 96 Liberty games, including three playoff contests. In her New York tenure, she was perhaps best-known for coming off the bench to provide a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double in the decisive third game of the team's 2007 playoff set with the Detroit Shock. She was traded to the Shock's Tulsa iteration in the midst of her fourth season in 2010, averaging a career-best 12.4 points and 8.4 rebounds (fourth in the Association) in her first full season there.
A three-time All-American whose name still dominates the Texas women's basketball record books, Jackson was originally diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. She nonetheless returned to play one more WNBA season with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2017 and later served two seasons on the Longhorns' bench as an assistant coach, overseeing the rise of Charli Collier, the first pick of the 2021 WNBA Draft.
At the time of her passing, Jackson was preparing for her first season at the helm of Wiley College's NAIA women's team.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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