Penni Peppas

Penni Ann Peppas (born July 2, 1972) is an American former basketball player. Following a college career at the University of the Ozarks, she became the first foreign born professional women's basketball player in Iceland,^[1] where she won multiple national championships and scoring titles.^[2]

Penni Peppas

Personal information
Born	(1972-07-02) July 2, 1972 (age 52)
Nationality	American
Career information
College	University of the Ozarks
Playing career	1994–1998
Position	Point guard
Career history
1994–1995	Breiðablik
1995–1998	Grindavík
Career highlights and awards
Úrvalsdeild Playoffs MVP (1995) 2× Icelandic champion (1995, 1997) Icelandic Basketball Super Cup (1997) 3× Úrvalsdeild scoring champion (1995-1997) Úrvalsdeild assists leader (1997)
Career Úrvalsdeild kvenna statistics
Points	1,723 (23.9 ppg)
Rebounds	599 (8.3 rpg)
Assists	276 (3.8 apg)

College

Peppas played for University of the Ozarks from 1990 to 1994 and left as the schools allt time leader in total points (2,170).^[3][4]

Iceland

After graduating in 1994, Peppas signed with Breiðablik in Iceland,^[5] becoming the first foreign born professional player in the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild kvenna.^[1] She was a three time scoring champion in the Úrvalsdeild and led the league in assists in 1997.^[6] Peppas won the Icelandic championship twice, in 1995 with Breiðablik,^{[7][8][9][10]} while also being named as Playoffs MVP,^[11] and in 1997 with Grindavík.^[12][13] On October 15, 1996, Peppas had a Quadruple-double against ÍR. For the game she had 52 points, 16 rebounds, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.^[14]

Honours

• Úrvalsdeild Playoffs MVP (1995)
• 2x Icelandic champion (1995, 1997)
• Icelandic Basketball Supercup (1997)^[15]
• 3x Úrvalsdeild scoring champion (1995–1997)
• Úrvalsdeild assists leader (1997)
• University of the Ozarks Sports Hall of Fame (2002)^[16]
• NAIA All-America (1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94)
• Kodak All-American (1992-93)

Úrvalsdeild statistics

†	Denotes seasons in which Peppas won the national championship
*	Led the league

Regular season statistics

Year	Team	GP	2P%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1994–95†	Breiðablik	23	.550	.309	.824	8.7	3.5	4.5	0.9	25.7*
1995–96	Grindavík	18	.606	.304	.807	8.6	3.4	4.4	0.8	28.9*
1996–97†	Grindavík	17	.571	.297	.775*	9.3	4.6*	4.7	0.6	25.0*
1997–98	Grindavík	14	.420	.286	.900*	6.2	3.9	2.9	0.8	13.4
Career		72	.556	.294	.814	8.3	3.8	4.2	0.8	23.9

Playoffs statistics

Year	Team	GP	2P%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1995†	Breiðablik	6	.512	.393	.793	9.7	3.5	3.5	1.7	23.7
1996	Grindavík	2	.605	.000	.818	7.5	1.5	6.0	1.5	27.5
1997†	Grindavík	5	.544	.398	.840	8.8	3.2	2.5	1.4	20.8
1998	Grindavík	2	.455	.222	.900	5.5	3.0	2.0	0.5	17.5
Career		15	.532	.323	.823	8.5	3.0	3.3	1.4	22.4

Source

References

1. Stefán Stefánsson (4 April 1995). "Kúrekastelpa frá Arkansas". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved July 25, 2017 – via Tímarit.is.
2. Ingvi Þór Sæmundsson (12 December 2024). "Penni Peppas lærði íslensku á undraverðum hraða". Vísir.is (in Icelandic). Retrieved 12 December 2024.
3. "University of the Ozarks Sports Hall of Fame" (PDF). uofoathletics.com. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
4. "Former Ozark star advances in Fort Smith's Greatest". Fort Smith Times Record. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
5. "Penni Peppas". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 1 October 1994. Retrieved 11 August 2017 – via Tímarit.is.
6. Óskar Ó. Jónsson (18 April 2003). "Titlar tölfræðinnar í 1. deild kvenna 1994-2003". KKI.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Association. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
7. "Breiðablik meistari í fyrstu tilraun!". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 5 April 1995. Retrieved 11 August 2017 – via Tímarit.is.
8. Björn Blöndal (5 April 1995). "Nýliðarnir fögnuðu meistaratitlinum". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 August 2017 – via Tímarit.is.
9. "Sigur". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 5 April 1995. Retrieved 11 August 2017 – via Tímarit.is.
10. Ingibjörg Hinriksdóttir (5 April 1995). "Meistarar á fyrsta ári í 1.deildinni". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 August 2017 – via Tímarit.is.
11. "Herbert Arnarson nýliði ársins og sá besti". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). 13 April 1995. Retrieved 11 August 2017 – via Tímarit.is.
12. Skúli Unnar Sveinsson (2 April 1997). "Ævintýrin gerast enn". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 August 2017 – via Tímarit.is.
13. "Ofurkona". Íþróttablaðið (in Icelandic). 1 April 1997. pp. 32–33. Retrieved 27 August 2024 – via Tímarit.is.
14. "Grindavík - ÍR, 1. deild kvenna , 15. október 1996". kki.is (in Icelandic). Icelandic Basketball Association. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
15. Björn Blöndal (30 September 1997). "Keflavík og Grindavík meistarar". Morgunblaðið (in Icelandic). Retrieved 11 August 2017 – via Tímarit.is.
16. "Hall of Fame - Penni Peppas-Burns ('94)". uofoathletics.com. University of the Ozarks. Retrieved 11 August 2017.