High school

Risper played high school basketball at Canyon Springs. As a senior, she averaged 15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.2 steals. She was named All-Ivy league and All-Riverside County First Team, along with the CIF Division 1A Co-Most Valuable Player. Other honors included Cal-Hi Sports All-State Third Team, and the L.A. Times All-Star Girls Basketball Team and the Press Enterprise First Team. In her junior year, she averaged 20.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.6 steals per game. She was integral in leading Canyon Springs to CIF Div. 1A Southern Section Championship, Ivy League championship and runner-up finish in state championship. In her senior year, she led Canyon Springs to a 31-4 overall record including a school record 25-game winning streak and a perfect 10-0 record in the Ivy League. She lettered all four years in basketball and served as team captain for three years. When she was recruited, she selected Vanderbilt over Texas and Oregon State.

Vanderbilt

Risper was a two-time Second Team All-SEC Pick for the Commodores. In her sophomore year, she was Vanderbilt's representative on the 2007-08 SEC Women's Basketball Good Works Team.

Chicago Sky

Risper was selected in the third round, 29th overall, in the 2009 WNBA Draft, by the Chicago Sky. Jennifer Risper’s first WNBA preseason game was a May 22 Sky win over the defending WNBA champion Detroit Shock

Detroit Shock

The Detroit Shock was a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006 and 2008 WNBA champion...

. Risper played 11 minutes and scored three points.
On May 28, Risper and the Sky played against an Indiana Fever

Indiana Fever

The Indiana Fever is a professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2000 season began...

 squad including her former teammate, Christina Wirth

Christina Wirth

Christina Wirth is an American basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the WNBA. She is the daughter of Alan Wirth, a former major league baseball player with the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics.-High school:...

. In the 67-74 loss, Risper played 9 minutes, had 3 Free Throws, 5 Rebounds, 1 Steal, and 3 points. Before the end of training camp, Risper was cut by the Sky.

Europe

In the fall of 2009, Risper and her former teammate Wirth both signed with a Slovakian team officially known as BK PU Bemaco Prešov. The season is scheduled to end in April 2010.

Awards and honors

• 2008-09 Vanderbilt women's Co-Athletes of the Year
• Women's Basketball Coaches Association (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:...
  
  ), National Defensive Player of the Year (2009)
• SEC All-Tournament Team (2009)
• SEC All-Defensive Team (2008)
• Second-team All-Southeastern Conference honoree (2008)
• Vanderbilt Thanksgiving All-Tournament Team (2008).
• All-tournament honors at the 2007 Contra Costa Times in Berkeley, California
• All-tournament selection (2007 Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament.)
• Female Newcomer of the Year honors among all Vanderbilt student-athletes (2006)