Mikiko Hagiwara Explained

Mikiko Hagiwara
Position:Shooting guard
Height M:1.80
Weight Kg:73
Birth Date:17 April 1970
Birth Place:Fukushima, Japan
Nationality:Japanese
Draft League:WNBA
Draft Year:1997
Draft Round:2 (Elite)
Draft Pick:14
Draft Team:Sacramento Monarchs
Years1:1997
Team1:Sacramento Monarchs
Years2:1997
Team2:Phoenix Mercury

is a Japanese former professional basketball player. She won a silver medal with the Japan women's national basketball team at the 1994 Asian Games. Hagiwara also competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics, where Japan's team came in seventh place.[1] Hagiwara would also play in the WNBA for one year from June 1997 to July 1998.

Hagiwara was drafted by the Sacramento Monarchs with the 14th pick in the WNBA Elite Draft. Her WNBA debut took place on June 21, 1997 in a 73 - 61 win over the Utah Starzz where she recorded 3 points in 16 minutes of playing time. She was traded to the Phoenix Mercury on July 31, 1997 and played 12 games for them, averaging 2.8 points and 1.2 rebounds. She remained with the Mercury partially for the 1998 season, playing 10 games for them between June 26 - July 20, 1998 but played significantly fewer minutes (5.9 minutes per game) and averaged 2.2 points.[2]

Hagiwara was waived by the Mercury on July 31, 1998 (exactly one year after being traded to the team) and would never play in the WNBA afterwards. Her final WNBA game was played on July 20, 1998 in a 88 - 67 win over her former team, the Sacramento Monarchs. Hagiwara recorded two points and no other stats in her final game.[3]

Career statistics

WNBA

Source[2]

Regular season

|-|style="text-align:left;"||style="text-align:left;"|Sacramento|14 || 2 || 12.4 || .319 || .273 || .667 || .6 || .7 || .1 || .1 || .6 || 3.1|-|style="text-align:left;"||style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix || 12 || 5 || 15.5 || .256 || .286 || .500 || 1.2 || .8 || .2 || .0 || .6 || 2.8|-|style="text-align:left;"||style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix || 10 || 0 || 5.9 || .381 || .333 || .667 || .2 || .3 || .0 || .0 || .5 || 2.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| Career || 2 years, 2 teams| 36 || 7 || 11.6 || .308 || .288 || .579 || .7 || .6 || .1 || .1 || .6 || 2.7|}

Playoffs

|-|style="text-align:left;"|1997|style="text-align:left;"|Phoenix || 1 || 0 || 11.0 || .500 || .000 ||  - || .0 || .0 || .0 || 1.0 || 3.0 || 2.0|}

Notes and References

  1. Mikiko Hagiwara. https://web.archive.org/web/20200417210848/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/mikiko-hagiwara-1.html . dead . 2020-04-17 .
  2. Web site: Mikiko Hagiwara WNBA Stats. Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. 18 December 2023.
  3. Web site: Sacramento Monarchs at Phoenix Mercury, July 20, 1998. Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. 18 December 2023.