RACHEL HEMMER
#50

Austin, Texas
Senior
6-3
Forward

A large (232K) photo of Rachel in action

Honors

 1993-94 Kodak District VIII All-Regional
1993-94 First Team All-Pac-10
1993-94 Fry's/Cardinal Classic MVP
1992-93 Member of the U.S. Junior National Team
1991-92 NCAA Final Four All-Tournament
1991-92 NCAA West Regional All-Tournament
1991-92 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year
1991-92 Pac-10 All-Freshman
1989-90 Naismith State H.S. Player of the Year (Virginia)
1990-91 Parade Fourth Team H.S. All-American
1990-91 Street & Smith's H.S. Preseason All-American
1990-91 Street & Smith's H.S. Preseason All-American

At Stanford

 Rachel Hemmer made a huge impact as a freshman in 1991-92... In fact, she was named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year...In fact, she was named to the NCAA Women's Final Four All-Tournament Team...And, she was named to the NCAA West Regional All-Tournament Team...According to the Stanford coaching staff, Rachel may have been the best freshman player in the nation..."I certainly didn't see anyone better in our travels," said VanDerveer...From a freshman sensation, she has gone on to have a solid career...She has played in 93 games in her career, starting 92 of those...She is Stanford's 15th all-time leading scorer with 1111 career points...She is Stanford's 5th all-time leading rebounder with 651 career rebounds...During her career, she has shot .518 from the field and .723 from the free throw line..."Rachel has been a solid player for the past three years," said VanDerveer. "Last year, she had to be careful with fouls. But this year, if there is anyone who is going to benefit from having all these freshmen post players around, it will be Rachel Hemmer. For maybe the first time in her career, she will not have to worry about fouls. If healthy, she'll do just fine."...If healthy is the key phrase...Last April 23, Rachel had surgery to her right foot...She had a bone graft, with two screws fused into her navicular bone...Thus she had the summer off from playing...She was scheduled to begin practice in early November...In the summer of 1993, Rachel was a member of the U.S. Junior National Team that competed in Seoul, Korea (Aug. 1-8)...She is considered a good outside threat, although she plays the power forward slot...A fine defender, a great rebounder.

The 1993-94 Season

 Named First Team All-Pac-10 and to the Kodak District VIII All-Regional Team...Rachel started all 31 games for Stanford, the only player to do so this season...She averaged 13.7 points per game, her highest average on The Farm...She led the team in rebounds (159), rebound average (7.8 pg), steals (57), free throws made (124), and free throws attempted (177)...She shot .523 from the field (2nd best on the team), and .701 from the line...She scored in double figures 21 times, including 20 points or more seven times...Her high-scoring effort was a career-high 32 points versus Dartmouth... She was named MVP of the 8th Annual Fry's/Cardinal Classic at Stanford...She led Stanford in scoring 10 times and in rebounding 17 times...She tied her career-high rebounding effort versus Washington at home with 16...Her 241 rebounds were 9th most in Stanford single-season history.

The 1992-93 Season

 Rachel played in 29 of the 32 games Stanford played during this season, starting 28 of those 29 games...The three games she missed in December were due to a mild eye injury...She averaged 10.7 points per game (3rd best on the team) and 6.4 rebounds per game (2nd best on the team)...She scored in doubles figures 17 times...Her high scoring game came at Hawaii--19 points...She had 18 at Oregon, and 17 at Washington State and against Oregon State at home...She had four double-doubles...Her high-rebounding effort came against Washington at home when she had a career-high 16 caroms (and 10 points)...She had double-figure rebounding efforts four times...Her .514 field goal percentage was 2nd best on the team (behind Kaplan's .518)...She also shot .704 from the free throw line...She led the team in steals per game (1.8) and was third in minutes played per game (25.4)...On the debit side, she led the squad in fouls (95) and foul-outs (6).

The 1991-92 Season

 Rachel started all 33 games as a freshman on this national championship team...She averaged 11.2 points (4th high on the team), 6.7 rebounds (2nd high on the team), and 2.2 assists...She shot .516 from the field, which would have been 8th best in the Pac-10 except that she did not have enough field goals made...Her .758 free throw percentage was second best on the team, and 7th best in the conference...Rachel's 222 rebounds were fourth best ever in a single season by a Stanford freshman... She led Stanford in scoring three times that season, twice in the post-season, INCLUDING THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME...In that game against Western Kentucky, she scored a GAME-HIGH 18 points...In the NCAA West Regional semifinal against Texas Tech, she scored 22 points...She scored a season-high 24 points at Washington State...Her point-scoring average in the five NCAA post-season games was 13.6...Overall, she led Stanford nine times in rebounding...HER BEST FRESHMAN REBOUNDING EFFORT (15) CAME IN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME...Overall, she had five double-doubles in her first year...She had seven assists in the Santa Clara and the California home games, still career highs...Her 18 blocks tied for second most on the team (with Anita Kaplan).

In High School

 Rachel Hemmer was considered to be a very good rebounder... But that's just one of her strengths..."There's nothing I like better than a person who can go get an offensive board," said VanDerveer. "We need that as a team. She can also score on the low block. She's strong, a little bigger than (`89 grad) Evon Asforis, who I would somewhat compare her to, but maybe a little better offensively at the same stage in their careers." ...Rachel actually went to three high schools, the first two of which were in Virginia...She spent half her freshman year at North Stafford High School...She then transferred to Garfield HS in Dale City, Virginia, where she spent the next 2 1/2 years...She moved to Austin, Texas in June of 1990, transferring to Westlake High School and its highly-successful basketball program for her senior year...As a junior at Garfield HS, she averaged 17.5 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks...Her field goal percentage was .580...As a sophomore, she averaged 15 points and 12.5 rebounds...As a junior, she was the Naismith State High School Player of the Year in Virginia...She was a preseason high school All-America according to Street & Smith's both prior to her junior and senior seasons...Prior to her senior year, she was considered the No. 3 player in the state of Texas...As a senior, she led Westlake High School to a second-place finish in the "regionals" with a 30-3 final record...She averaged 20.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.5 blocked shots...She shot .590 from the field, .690 from the free throw line...Besides being her Team MVP, she was also First Team All-State, named to both All-Texas All-Star Teams by the coaches association, was District MVP, Central Texas Player of the Year, Regional First Team, Regional MVP...Besides Street & Smith's preseason All-America, she was also a Parade All-America, a Dick Vitale All-America, and a USA Today honorable mention All-America...Chose Stanford over Northwestern, Penn State, and Columbia...As a junior, Rachel was named First Team All-Metropolitan by the Washington Post...She was also named First Team All-District, All-Area, and All-Region as a junior.

Personal Information

 Born April 2, 1973...Given name is Rachel Marie Hemmer...Lists watching movies as a hobby...Likes sports...A former volleyball player, soccer player, and trackster...Her dad, John, is retired from the military...He graduated from The Citadel, then earned his masters at USC...Rachel was born in Columbia, South Carolina.

Hemmer in the News
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