Cheryl Reeve Presser
MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL – The Minnesota Lynx today announced the team has signed unrestricted free agent Hamchétou Maïga-Ba (Hahm-Sha-To My-Ga Ba). Maïga-Ba, a Mali international, signs with the Lynx after spending parts of the last eight seasons with the Sacramento Monarchs and Houston Comets. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Originally chosen 10th overall in the 2002 WNBA Draft by Sacramento, Maïga-Ba enters the 2010 season with career averages of 5.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 241 games, 71 starts. In 34 games with Sacramento in 2009, the 6-2 forward averaged 8.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting .486 from the floor, which was the 11th-highest shooting percentage in the league. Maïga-Ba scored a career-high 20 points against the Lynx on August 28, 2009. The eight-year veteran enjoyed a career season in 2007 with Houston, averaging 9.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 29.6 minutes per game — all career highs — in 34 games, all starts.
"We're very happy that Hamchétou has chosen to continue her career here with the Minnesota Lynx," said Lynx Executive Vice President Roger Griffith. "We identified her early on in the free-agency process as someone we really wanted to add to our team because of her ability to defend and her experience in the playoffs. She's a player that's in the prime of her career; her statistics from the last three years prove that. Maïga-Ba's addition is the next step in assembling a playoff- and championship-caliber roster."
Considered one of the league's best perimeter defenders, Maïga-Ba has totaled 239 steals over her career, including a career-high 1.7 spg in 2007 with Houston, good for sixth in the league that year. Maïga-Ba tallied a career-high eight steals — the third-highest single-game total in WNBA history — on June 18, 2008 vs. Washington. Over the last three seasons, Maïga-Ba has averaged 1.29 steals per game.
A veteran of postseason play, Maïga-Ba was a key member of the Monarchs teams that advanced to the playoffs four consecutive years from 2003 to 2006, including back-to-back WNBA Finals appearances in 2005 and 2006, capturing the title in 2005. In 27 career playoff games, Maïga-Ba holds averages of 2.7 points, 1.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest.
"Our goal in free-agency was to sign a versatile, veteran player who would be a complement to our existing personnel on the perimeter," said Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. "The signing of Maïga-Ba gives us exactly that. She adds length and athleticism to defend opposing teams' best perimeter scorers and she is a player who over the last two seasons has blossomed into a scoring threat as well."
Born in Bamako, Mali, Maïga-Ba has been a member of the Mali National Team since 1994. Known in Mali and Senegal as the "Queen of Basketball," Maïga-Ba competed in her home country's first-ever Olympics as part of the 2008 Women's Olympic Basketball Team. In two games, she recorded averages of 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists. Maïga-Ba played four years at Old Dominion University, earning the Colonial Athletic Association's Player of the Year Award in 2001, her junior year.
The Minnesota Lynx will tip off the team's 12th season of basketball in the Twin Cities with their Home Opener on Sunday, May 16 at 6:00 p.m. against the Washington Mystics. Lower-level tickets are available for as little as $10 a game for the 17-game home season and can be purchased by calling 612-673-8400, e-mailing tickets@lynxbasketball.com, or visiting the Lynx website at
www.lynxbasketball.com.
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