Former Sparks, Mystics forward dies at 54 following cancer battle

Heidi Burge Horton, a former standout forward for the University of Virginia's basketball team, passed away on Tuesday, October 6 at the age of 54 following a battle with glioblastoma, a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer.

Burgeon Horton's collegiate career spanned from 1989 to 1993, where she and her twin sister Heather played pivotal roles in leading the Virginia Cavaliers to three ACC tournament wins and three regular season championships. Horton averaged an impressive 8.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game throughout her college days. The Cavaliers reached the women's final four three times with the Burge twins in their frontcourt.

Notably recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "World's Tallest Female Identical Twins" in 1992, the sisters' basketball skills were far more than the Disney movie "Double Teamed" suggested. Horton transitioned professionally to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), where she played 52 games for the Los Angeles Sparks in the inaugural season of 1997-98, averaging 4.0 points and 3.1 rebounds.

She later joined the Washington Mystics in the 1998-99 season, playing 30 games and contributing 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds.

After retiring from professional basketball, Burge Horton dedicated herself to coaching and mentoring youth, becoming the president and head coach of Hoops-School, a premier youth basketball training organization in West Houston. In her role, she also served as an Orthopedic Massage and Physio-Therapist.