| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women's Basketball | ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | Seoul 1988 | United States |
| Pan American Games | ||
| Gold | USA 1987 | Team Competition |
Cynthia Louise "Cindy" Brown (born March 16, 1965, in Portland, Oregon) is a retired American women's basketball player, at the college, Olympic and professional levels. Brown was a member of the USA Basketball team which went on to win a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1987,[1] and the gold medal at the 1998 Olympics in Seoul.[2]
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Brown played basketball for Long Beach State University between 1983 and 1987.[3] As a senior, she set two NCAA scoring records—the most points in a single season (974) and the most points in a single game (60).[3] The 60 point game was against San Jose State, a game Long Beach would win 149–69.[4] Brown was a member of the Final Four All-Tournament team in 1987, and earned first team All-America honors in 1986 and 1987.[3]
Because the U.S. lacked a women's pro league, Brown played professionally in Europe and Japan for almost a decade.[3] She played for:
She was selected by the Seattle Reign in the second round of the ABL Draft on June 19, 1996. A 6'-1" center/power forward, a tenacious rebounder and a strong inside scoring presence, Brown earned Second Team All-ABL honors following the 1996-97 season.[3] She was assigned to the site of her college success, the expansion Long Beach StingRays on April 26, 1997. Before she ever reported to Long Beach, however, Brown signed with the rival WNBA.
The WNBA allocated Brown to the Detroit Shock prior to the 1998 season.[3] In her first season with the Shock, she finished second in the WNBA in rebounding, and was named to the 1998 All-WNBA Second Team. Brown broke the Shock franchise record at Utah on August 10 by grabbing 21 rebounds in a game against Utah (a record which Cheryl Ford tied on June 22, 2003 at Connecticut, and which Ford broke on May 22, 2004 when she snagged 22 boards at San Antonio).
On July 29, 1999, midway through her second WNBA season, Brown was traded, along with Korie Hlede, to the Utah Starzz,[5] for Wendy Palmer and Olympia Scott-Richardson. Brown played only 9 games for Utah, and retired from the WNBA following the 1999 season.