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Heidi and Heather burge, Twin Basketball Players

Posted on April 26, 2009

heidi-and-heather-burgeHeather and Heidi Burge are twin sisters from California, United States, who both played college basketball at the University of Virginia and then played professionally in European leagues and in the Women’s National Basketball Association. At 6 feet 5 inches each, they were the world’s tallest female twins before their record was broken by Ann and Claire Recht. A Disney television movie, Double Teamed, is based on their life stories and achievements in basketball. In the WNBA, Heidi Burge Horton played for the Los Angeles Sparks and the Washington Mystics. Her sister Heather Burge Quella played for the Sacramento Monarchs. Both twins had to retire from playing basketball due to injuries. Heidi now works as a massage therapist and does basketball coaching and clinics on the side; Heather is now a multilingual teacher in Southern California.

It may not be a surprise that the Burge sisters, Heather and Heidi, play basketball. After all, they formerly held the Guinness World Record for tallest twins in the world (at 6 foot 5). The story of Heather and Heidi Burge and their development into talented youth basketball players during the ’70s and ’80s is told in the Disney original movie “Double Teamed”, which was released in 2002.

As the movie shows, Heather and Heidi Burge, who were born in 1971, became well known playing for their high school basketball team in Palos Verde, California. “Double Teamed’ focuses on their high school years and the rivalry between the sisters, who later played college basketball at the University of Virginia, making it to the NCAA Final Four several times.

After college Heather and Heidi Burge went on to play professional basketball in Europe, which was the only option for female basketball players at the time, but when the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) started play in 1997, the sisters hoped to one day play professionally in the U.S.

The dream came true, although briefly, when both Heather and Heidi made WNBA teams. Heather played for Sacramento Monarchs, while Heidi played for the Los Angeles Sparks and the Washington Mystics. Both sisters played two seasons in the WNBA (1997 and 1998) before retiring from professional basketball due to injuries.

Both sisters are still involved with basketball through coaching. Heidi Burge Horton coaches at a basketball school for all ages in the Houston area. Heather (Burge) Quella coaches at a youth basketball clinic in Southern California.

In “Double Teamed,” Poppi Monroe plays Heather Burge and Annie McElwain plays Heidi. It doesn’t seem like either actress has a long acting resume, but ironically both of them have been in at least one episode of “CSI:Miami.”

Categories: Football

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