Sandi Bittler
Sandi Bittler is one of the greatest basketball players ever from Mercer County who went on to excel in college and international venues.
Her basketball ability was recognized early, as in the 8th grade the Mercer student advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Pepsi Hot Shot Contest.
In high school from 1983-86, she was a four- year letter winner in cross country (state qualifier), track (District 10 finalist) and basketball where she led the team to a District 10 championship.
In basketball, Sandi was Mercer County League MVP her junior and senior seasons and captain of the Lady Ms. She was league scoring champion her final two years and set the Mercer girls scoring record (1,493 points) that still stands today.
She was valedictorian of Mercer High Class of 1986 and went on to a brilliant career at Princeton University, where she set several school and Ivy League records. As a senior, she ranked No. 1 in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (4.1). She set and continues to hold the Princeton’s women’s scoring record of 1,683 points.
She was named Princeton Women’s Athlete of the Century along with the men’s winner, Bill Bradley. During college she played on an international all-star team in Sweden and later with Athletes In Action in various countries.
She served as director of operations for the National Basketball Association and accompanied the Dream Team to the Barcelona Olympics. She helped create a marketing plan and feasibility study for launch of the WNBA.
After serving as NIKE director of women’s sports marketing, she became vice president of the WNBA Portland Fire. She currently serves as consultant to the Portland Trailblazers. She was inducted into the Mercer High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.