Anita Ortega

Anita Ortega
Personal information
Nationality	American / Puerto Rican
Listed height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Career information
High school	Los Angeles High School; (Los Angeles, California)
College	UCLA (1975–1979)
Position	Guard
Career history
As player:
1979–1981	San Francisco Pioneers
1981	Minnesota Fillies
As coach:
1981–1983	UCLA (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
	WBL All-Star (1980); WBL All-Pro (1980); AIAW national champion (1978);

Anita Ortega is an American-Puerto Rican former basketball player and law enforcement officer. She played college basketball at UCLA^[1] where she won the 1978 AIAW championship. She later played professionally in the Women's Professional Basketball League before starting a career as a law enforcement officer with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Basketball career

College career

Ortega was a four-year starter at UCLA from 1975 to 1979. During her junior year, she won the 1978 AIAW championship.^[2]

Professional career

Ortega played in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL), the first women's professional basketball league in the United States, from 1979 to 1981. During her first season with the San Francisco Pioneers, she averaged 24.1 points 5.2 assists per game and was selected both to the All-Pro team and to the 1980 WBL All-Star Game. In 1981, she was traded to the Minnesota Fillies.^[2]^[3]

National team career

In 1979, she played in the Pan American Games, representing Puerto Rico.^{[citation needed]}

Later life

After the WBL folded in 1981, Ortega returned to the UCLA as an assistant coach. She left coaching to attend the police academy and later served in the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from 1984 until her retirement in 2016.^[2]^[4]

Personal life

Her father was born in Bayamón.^{[citation needed]}

Statistics

College statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Year	Team	GP	Points	FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1978-79	UCLA	34	548	43.3%	69.4%	5.0	3.8	2.5	0.8	16.1
1977-78	UCLA	29	535	49.9%	61.3%	4.4	3.7	2.2	0.3	18.4
1976-77	UCLA	23	340	45.4%	61.7%	5.8	1.7	2.0	0.1	14.8
1975-76	UCLA	23	328	44.7%	61.8%	5.6	1.8	2.0	0.3	14.3
Career	UCLA	109	1751	45.9%	64.1%	5.1	2.9	2.2	0.4	16.1

Source^[5]

References

^ "'Be relentless,' new UCLA graduates are told". UCLA.
^ ^a ^b ^c Natalie Heavren (25 September 2022). "Anita Ortega: A Pioneer in more ways than one". thenexthoops.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
^ Scott Ostler (28 November 2022). "How S.F. Pioneers fought for pay, broke stereotypes and played to epic end". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
^ Eric Sondheimer (13 November 2014). "Former L.A. High and UCLA standout Anita Ortega to retire from LAPD". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
^ "UCLA Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-09-05.

External links

[1] "'Be relentless,' new UCLA graduates are told". UCLA.

[nexthoops-2022-2] Natalie Heavren (25 September 2022). "Anita Ortega: A Pioneer in more ways than one". thenexthoops.com. Retrieved 18 December 2023.

[3] Scott Ostler (28 November 2022). "How S.F. Pioneers fought for pay, broke stereotypes and played to epic end". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 18 December 2023.

[4] Eric Sondheimer (13 November 2014). "Former L.A. High and UCLA standout Anita Ortega to retire from LAPD". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 December 2023.

[5] "UCLA Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-09-05.

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