| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1997-09-26)September 26, 1997 (age 28) Cypress, Texas, U.S. |
| Nationality | American / Nigerian |
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Cypress Woods (Cypress, Texas) |
| College |
|
| WNBA draft | 2020: 3rd round, 26th overall pick |
| Drafted by | New York Liberty |
| Playing career | 2020–present |
| Position | Point guard |
Stats atBasketball Reference  | |
Erica Erinma Ogwumike (born September 26, 1997) is aNigerian Americanbasketball player. She played college basketball for theRice Owls.[1][2][3]
In July 2020, she announced her decision to play for theNigeria women's national basketball team in theTokyo Olympics. Aside from athletics, Ogwumike is also an aspiringdoctor and is currently in medical school.[4][5]
Ogwumike played High school basketball forCypress Woods High School; she holds the records for most career points forCypress Woods High School as she scored 2,227 career points, 1,141 rebounds and 440 steals; in all 143 games, she played for the school.[6][7]
Ogwumike started her college career with thePepperdine Waves women's basketball team, where she averaged 18.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in her freshman season.[8] She transferred toRice University in 2016, where she couldn't play the 2016–17 season for theRice Owls women's basketball team due to transfer rules. In her sophomore season in 2017, she averaged 17.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. In her junior year, she averaged 16.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists. She played her senior year as a graduate student; she averaged 19 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists.[9]
On April 17, 2020, theNew York Liberty selected Ogwumike as the 26th pick in the2020 WNBA draft. Later that night, she was traded to theMinnesota Lynx.[10][11] She was waived by theMinnesota Lynx alongsideLinnae Harper days after the draft.[12]
Erica was called up and participated at theNigeria women's national basketball team 10-day training camp for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games in Atlanta by the team coachOtis Hughley Jr.[13][14] She participated in the basketball event at the2020 Summer Olympics where she averaged 1 rebound, and 1 assist.[15]
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Pepperdine | 26 | 26 | 33.6 | 41.8 | 30.8 | 72.6 | 7.5 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 18.4 |
| 2016–17 | Rice | Did not play due to injury | |||||||||||
| 2017–18 | Rice | 32 | 32 | 32.8 | 47.4 | 37.8 | 79.1 | 9.3 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 17.9 |
| 2018–19 | Rice | 31 | 31 | 32.4 | 46.3 | 29.8 | 84.5 | 10.5 | 2.7 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 2.9 | 16.5 |
| 2019–20 | Rice | 27 | 27 | 31.5 | 45.8 | 17.2 | 81.0 | 10.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 2.7 | 19.0 |
| Career | 116 | 116 | 32.6 | 45.3 | 30.0 | 79.3 | 9.5 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 17.9 | |
| Statistics retrieved fromSports-Reference.[16] | |||||||||||||
Ogwumike was born in Cypress, Texas. She has three older sisters who also play basketball—Nneka of theSeattle Storm,Chiney of theLos Angeles Sparks, and Olivia of theRice University Owls.[17] She attendedUniversity of Texas Southwestern Medical School and is currently a dermatologist.[18][19]