Nykesha Sales

Nykesha Simone Sales (born May 10, 1976) is an American assistant coach at the University of Georgia.

She is a former professional basketball player in the WNBA, as well as playing in the Bosnian league for the ZKK Mladi Krajisnik club.

Her primary position is the small forward.

Her second position is shooting guard.

She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game in 1994, scoring 21 points.

Sales attended the University of Connecticut (UConn) as a business major from 1994 to 1998.

She was a member of the powerhouse UConn women's basketball team.

Sales was named to the team representing the US at the 1994 William Jones Cup competition in Taipei, Taiwan.

The USA team won all eight games, winning the gold medal, but not without close calls.

In three games the teams had to come from behind to win.

One preliminary game ended up as a single-point victory, and the gold medal game went to overtime before the USA team beat South Korea by a single point, 90–89.

Sales averaged 2.5 points per game.

In 1995 she helped lead UConn to an undefeated NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship as well as a Final Four appearance in the 1996 NCAA Tournament.

She was named Big East Rookie of the Year in 1995.

Sales competed with USA Basketball as a member of the 1995 Jones Cup Team that won the Bronze in Taipei.

She averaged 7.8 points per game and was second on the team in steals, with ten.

She was also named to the 1996–97 and 1997-98 Kodak All-America teams.

Sales was invited to be a member of the Jones Cup team representing the US in 1996.

She helped the team to a 9–0 record, and the gold medal in the event.

Sales averaged 4.8 points per game.

In 1997 she was a member of the Gold medal USA Women's World University Games.

In 1997-98 she helped the team make two Elite Eight appearances.

In the 1997–98 season, she was named to the All-American first team, Defensive Player of the Year, and also the BIG EAST Player of the Year.

Sales represented the US at the 1997 World University Games held in Marsala, Sicily, Italy in August 1997.

The USA team won all six games, earning the gold medal at the event.

Sales was the team's leading scorer, averaging 18.3 points per game.

In the game against Cuba, Sales scored 32 points, which set a record for points scored in a gold medal game, and represents the third highest point total by an American recorded at the World University Games.

Sales left college as UConn's all-time leading scorer with 2,178 career points.

She scored the record-breaking points as part of a staged controversial layup.

Sales had suffered an injury that had essentially ended her collegiate career.

UConn's next game (against Villanova University) began with Villanova permitting Sales to complete an uncontested layup; UConn then returned the favor, allowing Villanova to score (the game essentially began with a 2–2 score before serious play commenced).

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma felt bad that Sales did not already have the record, as he had made her sit on many occasions to avoid running up the score.

The staged basket, while questioned in retrospect, was his attempt to make it up to her.

He contacted the previous record holder, Kerry Bascom, as well as Big East Commissioner Mike Tranghese to ensure that the incident would not be a problem, although the media was, and to a degree continues to be, critical of the move.

Her brother Brooks Sales played forward for Villanova from 1998 to 2002, and currently plays overseas in Spain for the Club Baloncesto Breogán of Lugo.

Sales attended Bloomfield High School in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and lettered in basketball.

She was named the USA Today High School National Player of the Year in basketball, as a senior.

Sales was named a High School All-American by the WBCA.

In 1999 Sales was added to the roster of the USA FIBA Senior National Team.

Sales was a member of the inaugural class (2006) of inductees to the University of Connecticut women's basketball "Huskies of Honor" recognition program.