KRISTI TOLIVER

CLASS OF 2005

ATHLETE

Kristi Toliver enjoyed an amazing basketball career at HHS from 2002-2005.  Kristi amassed 2,527 points, making her the HHS leading scorer (girl or boy) by a margin of more than 850 points.  She led the Valley District in scoring all 4 years, was 4-time all district and regional 1^st team and 3-time 1^st team All State.  As a junior, the 5’7” point guard averaged 32.4 points, 4.8 assists and 6 rebounds per game.  In addition to the all-state honors, she was the Group AA Player of the Year, Virginia State Gatorade Player of the Year and Ms. Basketball in Virginia.  Kristi was named to several All-American teams, including McDonald’s, Parade and USA Today.  Her single game score of 52 points broke the school record of 50 set by Ralph Sampson (HoF 2009).

        Many of the nation’s leading women’s college programs pursued Kristi.  She chose to attend the University of Maryland where she had an immediate impact.  In her first season Kristi started 24 of 33 games and averaged 11.6 points per game.  In the National Championship game against Duke University, Maryland overcame a 13-point deficit and Kristi hit a last second 3-point shot to tie the game.  Kristi’s pair of late free throws secured the victory and Maryland achieved its 1^st Women’s Basketball National Championship.  During her 4-year career at Maryland, Kristi averaged 15 points and 5.4 assists per game and won the Nancy Lieberman Award.  She was also an Associated Press 2^nd team All-American in 2008 and 1^st team in 2009.

        Following her outstanding career at Maryland, Kristi was the #3 pick in the 2009 WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky.  Coming off the bench, Kristi averaged 7.6 points per game.  Prior to the 2010 season Kristi was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks where she played through the 2016 season. During her time with the L.A. Sparks, Kristi earned WNBA 2^nd team honors, voted Most Improved player and selected for the All-Star game.  In 2015 Toliver set a Sparks franchise record with 43 points in one game.  The 2016 Sparks won the WNBA Championship and Kristi averaged 12.4 points per game for the season.  Following the season, Kristi signed a contract with the Washington Mystics for the 2017 season.

Since the 2009-10 season, Kristi spent the WNBA off-season playing overseas for teams in Israel, Hungary, Turkey and Russia.  She became a joint American/Slovoki citizen in 2014 and played for the Slovakian Women’s National Basketball team in the in the 2015 EuroBasket women’s tournaments. Kristi's most recent claim to fame is winning championships in both the European and Euro Leagues in overseas play.

Kristi’s sister Carli was a Blue Streak basketball player and later played for Lehigh University.  Her father George Toliver was a HoF player at James Madison University and is a retired NBA referee.  Kristi’s mother Peggy is a retired teacher in the Harrisonburg school system.