Nia Coffey

Northwestern is the smallest school in the Big Ten, and it’s not even close. It boasts fewer than 9,000 undergrads (Nebraska is the second smallest with just over 20,000) and is also the only private school in the conference. When people look at Northwestern from the outside, they likely see a mid-size, academic school in the Midwest where sports — albeit Big Ten sports — are not a priority. Those who follow Northwestern avidly, though, know this is not the case, especially considering the school’s women’s programs.

And then there was one – Amir. The Coffey family’s foothold in L.A. – Nia Coffey and her younger brother, Amir Coffey, playing for the Sparks and Clippers, respectively – won’t include Nia this coming summer. Following Coffey’s breakout season in her first year with...

The Los Angeles Sparks got some good news and bad news during the first week of WNBA free agency. Te’a Cooper, who spent her first two seasons with the Sparks, signed her qualifying offer to return to the team for year three. The point guard has become a defensive stalwart despite her 5’8 frame, with the Sparks allowing two fewer points per 100 possessions with Cooper on the floor. The playmaking has been slower to come along, and Cooper has struggled to finish in the paint, but she averaged more points, rebounds, steals, and blocks per 36 minutes in her sophomore season compared to her rookie year.

More than half an hour after the Sparks wrapped up practice Tuesday, Nia Coffey was still on the court at the team’s Glendale practice facility. While others called it a day, the Sparks forward was working on additional drills. She used her T-shirt to wipe sweat off her face as she sat down in front of the camera for a planned videoconference.

Northwestern isn’t usually thought of as a hotbed for professional basketball talent, which has made Nia Coffey’s breakout start to the season for the Los Angeles Sparks oh so very special. Here’s a quick two-minute video breaking down everything you need to know about the 6-foot-1 sharpshooter who was once...

LOS ANGELES — Nia Coffey is the middle child of the Coffey children, all of whom became basketball stars. Her father, Richard, played in the NBA. So, Nia and her siblings knew the importance of the game. “Understanding how basketball could take us if we took it seriously at a...

The final dress rehearsal is done. Now Derek Fisher must prepare his cast for opening night. After the Sparks’ final preseason game against the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday at the Los Angeles Convention Center ended in a tie, Fisher has four days to set his final roster for the Sparks’ 25th season. The team signed 15 players for training camp and needs to settle on 12 by May 12, two days before the team’s opener against the visiting Dallas Wings.

Los Angeles starters: Erica Wheeler, Brittney Sykes, Amanda Zahui B, Jasmine Walker, Chiney Ogwumike. Las Vegas starters: Kelsey Plum, Jackie Young, Liz Cambage, A’ja Wilson, Angel McCoughtry. In the second scrimmage of the WNBA preseason, the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Las Vegas Aces in a closed scrimmage, 80-71, at...

By all accounts, the Sparks’ first warmup went well: Led by Nia Coffey’s 20 points, they beat the Las Vegas Aces 80-71 on Sunday in a scrimmage on the road. The Aces fielded a nearly full roster except for point guard Chelsea Gray, the former Sparks’ star who signed with Las Vegas during free agency.

LOS ANGELES — From Minnetonka, Minnesota, to Los Angeles, California – oh, the places that orange ball has taken the Coffey kids. Amir Coffey – an athletic wing on a two-way contract – has spent his first season-plus working to gain a foothold with the Clippers. Last week, another of L.A.’s other professional basketball teams announced that it brought aboard a member of the Coffey family: The Sparks signed his older sister, Nia Coffey, to a training camp deal.