Sofía Roma (born 21 November 1996) is a Puerto Rican and Italian basketball player who represents Puerto Rico in international play. Roma played college basketball at Wagner College and later Duke.

Sofía Roma
Personal information
Born (1996-11-26) 26 November 1996 (age 27)
Richmond Hill, New York City, New York, U.S.
Listed height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Career information
High schoolNazareth Regional
(Brooklyn, New York)
CollegeWagner
Duke
Playing career2019–present
PositionPower forward / Center
Number11
Career history
2019–2020Cangrejeras de Santurce
2020Della Fiore Broni
2021Grupo Hafesa Raca Granada
2022Södertälje BBK
2023A.S. Vicenza
2023Montañeras de Morovis
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing  Puerto Rico
Pan American Games
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Lima Team
Centrobasket Women
Gold medal – first place 2022 Mexico Team

Early life

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An Italian-Puerto Rican, Roma was born on 21 November 1996 in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of New York City, New York.[1][2] A center, Roma played high school basketball at Nazareth Regional.[3]

College career

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Roma played college basketball for the Wagner Seahawks, which represent Wagner College. In her freshman season, she was noted for her rebounding and shot-blocking, averaging 5.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game in 29 games played.[3] She then averaged 10.0 rebounds per game in her sophomore year.[4] Following the season, she transferred to Duke University, where she played for the Blue Devils.[4] Due to the NCAA's transfer rules, she sat out the 2016–17 season.[4] She made her debut with Duke on 25 January 2018, against Boston College.[5] She dealt with knee issues, causing her to have limited playing time while at Duke.[5]

Professional career

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Roma has played professional club basketball in Sweden, Italy, Spain, and Puerto Rico.[6] After finishing her college career at Duke, she played for the Cangrejeras de Santurce of the Puerto Rican Baloncesto Superior Nacional Femenino (BSNF) league in 2019 and 2020.[7] In June 2020, she signed with the Italian club Della Fiore Broni of the Lega Basket Femminile (LBF).[7] In August 2021, Roma signed with Grupo Hafesa Raca Granada of the Liga Femenina Challenge.[8] She later played for Södertälje BBK in Sweden.[9] In January 2023, she signed with A.S. Vicenza.[10] In 2023, Roma returned to the BSNF to play for the Montañeras de Morovis.[11]

National team career

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Holding both Puerto Rican and Italian nationality,[12] Roma represents Puerto Rico in international tournament play as a power forward and center.[1][11] She was on the women's national junior team in 2011 at the FIBA Under-16 Women's AmeriCup in Mexico.[4] She also played at Women's U17 Centrobasket tournament in 2013.[13]

Roma made her debut for the senior team in 2015, at the 2015 Pan American Games.[3] She was later on Puerto Rico's roster at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, with the team winning bronze.[7] Roma also represented Puerto Rico at three AmeriCup tournaments (2015, 2019, and 2023).[1] She also played for Puerto Rico at the 2022 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, where the team lost in the quarter-finals.[1] The team recorded two wins in group play, which were Puerto Rico's first wins in either World Cup or Olympic play.[1] Roma played for Puerto Rico at the 2022 Centrobasket Women tournament, helping the team win the championship.[2][14]

Roma helped Puerto Rico qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, being on the team's roster in the qualifying tournament held in Xi'an.[11] In May, she played in an exhibition game between the Puerto Rico women's national team and the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).[15] After being named to a 15-woman preliminary roster for Puerto Rico's Olympic play,[16] Roma was named to Puerto Rico's final 12-woman roster for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[17]

Off the court

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She graduated from Duke in May 2018 with a bachelor's degree in politic science and later from the Fuqua School of Business with a masters in management studies.[5][6] Roma is the Head of Sports Desk for The Field Team, a Soethby's-affiliated real estate company in New York.[6]

Career statistics

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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 GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Wagner 28 1 15.8 .400 .455 5.8 .1 .5 1.0 3.2
2015–16 Wagner 28 27 28.3 .380 .630 10.0 .6 .5 2.1 5.7
2016–17 Duke Did not play due to NCAA transfer rules
2017–18 Duke 12 0 5.8 .333 .200 1.3 .3 .3 .0 .8
2018–19 Duke 24 0 5.3 .500 1.000 1.0 .2 .0 .1 .4
Statistics retrieved from Wagner Athletics and ESPN.[3][18]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "ROMA Sofia". olympics.com. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Sofia Roma Basketball Profile". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d "Sofia Roma". Wagner Athletics. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Blue Devils Add 6-2 Transfer Sofia Roma from Wagner". GoDuke.com. 3 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Q&A with Fifth-Year Senior Sofia Roma". GoDuke.com. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Meet Sofia". The Field Team. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  7. ^ a b c "Broni signs Sofia Roma, ex Santurce". Eurobasket.com. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Sofia Roma (ex Broni) agreed terms with Granada". Latinbasket.com. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Sofia Roma (PUR)'s profile - FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022". FIBA. 2022. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  10. ^ "AS Vicenza 2022-23: il colpo grosso si chiama Sofia Roma" (in Italian). A.S. Vicenza. 5 January 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  11. ^ a b c "Sofia Roma". FIBA. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Sofia Roma - Player Profile". FIBA. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  13. ^ "15 - Sofia Laura Roma". FIBA. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Centrobasket (2022)". Latinbasket.com. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  15. ^ "WNBA Stats - PUR vs LVA". Women's National Basketball Association. 11 May 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  16. ^ "París 2024: la Selección Nacional de baloncesto femenino corta dos jugadoras y prepara su salida a Europa para partidos de fogueo". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 8 July 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  17. ^ @FIBA (20 July 2024). "The Ultimate 12 to rep Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 at #Paris2024 🤩" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 August 2024 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "Sofia Roma Career Stats". ESPN. Retrieved 4 August 2024.