Kia Vaughn is a professional women's basketball player for the WNBA

Women's National Basketball Association

The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

's New York Liberty

New York Liberty

The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...

. She attended high school at St. Michael's All Girls High School in New York, and later went on to star at Rutgers University

Rutgers University

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...

.

High school

Vaughn played for St. Michael Academy in New York, New York, where she was named a WBCA

Women's Basketball Coaches Association

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is an association of coaches of women's basketball teams at all levels.The organization was formed in 1981, with the goal of addressing the needs of women's basketball coaches.The mission of the WBCA is:...

 All-American. She participated in the 2005 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored two points

College

Vaughn attended Rutgers University from 2006–2009, playing under legendary coach C. Vivian Stringer

C. Vivian Stringer

Charlaine Vivian Stringer is a prominent African American basketball coach, with one of the best records in the history of women's basketball...

. She helped Rutgers to a perfect 16–0 record in the Big East conference her freshman year, averaging 6.3 points per game and 7 rebounds a game. During her sophomore season, she was named the All-Met Division I Women's College Basketball Player of the Year. She averaged 12.8 points per game, 9.3 rebounds per game, and 2.5 blocks per game. That year, she helped lead the Rutgers women's basketball team to a Big East Conference

Big East Conference

The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletics conference consisting of sixteen universities in the eastern half of the United States. The conference's 17 members participate in 24 NCAA sports...

 championship. The Lady Scarlet Knights lost to the Tennessee Lady Vols in the NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 championship game.

Vaughn continued to excel in her junior season, garnering Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association All-Met First Team honors along with being named to the All Big-East second team. She averaged 10 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per game on the season. Her senior campaign was solid, but a little underwhelming as she averaged only 9.7 points per game 6.7 rebounds per game. Nevertheless, she was named All-Big East Honorable Mention at the season's conclusion.

USA Basketball

Vaughn was also a member of the Championship winning 2006 USA National Team FIBA

International Basketball Federation

The International Basketball Federation, more commonly known as FIBA , from its French name Fédération Internationale de Basketball, is an association of national organizations which governs international competition in basketball...

 Americas U20 Championship for Women in Mexico City, Mexico. Kia averaged 12 points and 3 rebounds in 5 games.