In 1997, the Women's National Basketball Association

Women's National Basketball Association

The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

 was created. In order to give new teams reasonable talent, the league decided to have two drafts. There was the normal collegiate draft that most professional sports leagues hold. There was also the WNBA Elite Draft. The Elite Draft allowed teams to pick players that have already graduated from college and have gone on to play professionally on other American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 teams or overseas.

The following is the list of how players were picked in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft. After this draft, the normal collegiate draft

1997 WNBA Draft

The 1997 WNBA Draft was the first annual draft held by the WNBA through which teams could select new players from a talent pool of college and professional women's basketball players. Unlike later drafts, this draft was unique because there were three different stages in which teams built their...

 took place.

Round 1

Pick	Player	Nationality	WNBA Team	School/Club Team
1	Dena Head Dena Head Dena Head is a former Women's National Basketball Association player. She is best remembered as the first player ever drafted in the WNBA.-High school years:In high school, Head was named Miss Basketball of Michigan...  (G)		Utah Starzz Utah Starzz The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. The Starzz relocated, in 2003, to San Antonio, Texas where the team became the San Antonio Silver Stars...	Tennessee University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
2	Isabelle Fijalkowski Isabelle Fijalkowski Isabelle Fijalkowski, now Isabelle Fijalkowski-Tournebize , is a retired French basketball player.- Career :*1988-1991: Montferrand*1991-1992: Challes-les-Eaux*1992-1994: Clermont-Ferrand...  (C/F)		Cleveland Rockers Cleveland Rockers This article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which...	Colorado University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
3	Rhonda Mapp (C/F)		Charlotte Sting Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....	North Carolina State North Carolina State University North Carolina State University at Raleigh is a public, coeducational, extensive research university located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Commonly known as NC State, the university is part of the University of North Carolina system and is a land, sea, and space grant institution...
4	Kym Hampton Kym Hampton Kym Hampton is a retired professional basketball player from the WNBA.-References:*...  (C/F)		New York Liberty New York Liberty The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...	Arizona State Arizona State University Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
5	Wanda Guyton (F)		Houston Comets Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...	South Florida University of South Florida The University of South Florida, also known as USF, is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, one of the state's three flagship universities for public research, and is located in Tampa, Florida, USA...
6	Judy Mosley-McAfee (F)		Sacramento Monarchs Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009...	Hawaii University of Hawaii at Manoa The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...
7	Bridget Pettis Bridget Pettis Bridget Pettis is a former American college and professional basketball player who was a guard in the Women's National Basketball Association for eight seasons during the 1990s and 2000s...  (F)		Phoenix Mercury Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...	Florida University of Florida The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
8	Daedra Charles Daedra Charles Daedra Janel Charles is a retired female basketball player from the United States. She was a member of the United States women's national basketball team that claimed the bronze medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Charles was affiliated with the University of...  (C)		Los Angeles Sparks Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...	Tennessee University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...

Round 2

Pick	Player	Nationality	WNBA Team	School/Club Team
9	Wendy Palmer (F)		Utah Starzz Utah Starzz The Utah Starzz were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play in the 1997 WNBA season as one of the league's eight original teams. The Starzz relocated, in 2003, to San Antonio, Texas where the team became the San Antonio Silver Stars...	Virginia University of Virginia The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
10	Lynette Woodard (G)		Cleveland Rockers Cleveland Rockers This article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which...	Kansas University of Kansas The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
11	Michi Atkins (F)		Charlotte Sting Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....	Texas Tech Texas Tech University Texas Tech University, often referred to as Texas Tech or TTU, is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and originally known as Texas Technological College, it is the leading institution of the Texas Tech University System and has the...
12	Vickie Johnson Vickie Johnson Vickie Johnson , is a WNBA player who played for the San Antonio Silver Stars until her retirement in 2009. She grew up in Coushatta, Louisiana.-High School Years:Johnson was a letterman in basketball and track and field...  (F)		New York Liberty New York Liberty The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...	Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
13	Janeth Arcain Janeth Arcain Janeth dos Santos Arcain is a retired Brazilian professional women's basketball player. She played in the United States for the Houston Comets in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997–2005.-WNBA career:Arcain was one of the original players selected from the WNBA's inaugural...  (F)		Houston Comets Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...	Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
14	Mikiko Hagiwara (G)		Sacramento Monarchs Sacramento Monarchs The Sacramento Monarchs were a basketball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1997 until folding on November 20, 2009...	Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
15	Nancy Lieberman-Cline (G)		Phoenix Mercury Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...	Old Dominion Old Dominion University Old Dominion University is a state university located in Norfolk, Virginia, United States, and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools...
16	Zheng Haixia (C)		Los Angeles Sparks Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...	China China Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...