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1997 Houston Comets season
Coach Van Chancellor
Arena Compaq Center
Attendance9,703 per game
Results
Record18–10 (.643)
Place1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishWon WNBA Finals

The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the Houston Comets. The Comets won the inaugural WNBA Finals.

Offseason

Initial player allocation

Pick Player Nationality WNBA Team College/HS/Club Team
5 Sheryl Swoopes (F)   United States Houston Comets Texas Tech
6 Cynthia Cooper (G)   United States Houston Comets Southern California

[1]

WNBA draft

Pick Player Nationality School/Club Team
1 Tina Thompson   United States Southern California

[2]

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Conference W L PCT Conf. GB
Houston Comets x 18 10 .643 6–6 –
New York Liberty x 17 11 .607 8–4 1.0
Charlotte Sting x 15 13 .536 5–7 3.0
Cleveland Rockers o 15 13 .536 5–7 3.0

Season Schedule

1997 Game Log
June
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
1 June 21 @ Cleveland W 76-56 Cooper (25) Cooper (8) Cooper (5) Gund Arena 1-0
2 June 24 Phoenix W 70-55 Arcain (23) Arcain (8) Cooper (3) The Summit 2-0
3 June 26 New York L 60-62 (OT) Cooper (20) Guyton (9) Cooper (3) The Summit 2-1
4 June 28 @ Utah W 76-58 Cooper (20) Guyton (9) Cooper (3) Delta Center 3-1
5 June 30 Los Angeles W 71-66 (OT) Arcain (17) Jackson (8) Cooper (5) The Summit 4-1
July
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
6 July 2 @ New York L 67-70 Cooper (19) Guyton (8) Cooper (6) Madison Square Garden 4-2
7 July 4 New York L 58-65 Thompson (15) Arcain (7) Cooper (8) The Summit 4-3
8 July 7 Charlotte W 74-56 Cooper (21) Thompson (9) Cooper (6) The Summit 5-3
9 July 9 @ Phoenix L 64-69 Cooper (16) Thompson (7) Perrot (4) America West Arena 5-4
10 July 12 Sacramento W 81-69 Cooper (20) Thompson (10) Cooper (8) The Summit 6-4
11 July 14 Utah W 79-56 Arcain, Guyton (17) Harris (8) Perrot (4) The Summit 7-4
12 July 16 @ Los Angeles L 52-77 Thompson, Cooper (17) Arcain (8) Arcain, Cooper (3) Great Western Forum 7-5
13 July 18 @ Sacramento W 82-60 Cooper (30) Jackson (12) Perrot (7) Arco Arena 8-5
14 July 22 @ Phoenix W 77-69 Cooper (32) Arcain (7) Cooper (6) America West Arena 9-5
15 July 25 @ Sacramento W 86-76 Cooper (44) Guyton (7) Arcain (5) Arco Arena 10-5
16 July 29 Cleveland W 64-73 Thompson (24) Thompson (9) Cooper (5) The Summit 10-6
August
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Record
17 August 1 @ Los Angeles W 81-57 Cooper (34) Thompson (9) Cooper (5) Great Western Forum 11-6
18 August 2 @ Utah L 63-74 Thompson (20) Jackson (6) Cooper (5) Delta Center 11-7
19 August 5 @ Cleveland W 76-66 Cooper (30) Arcain (8) Cooper (6) Gund Arena 12-7
20 August 7 Phoenix W 74-70 Cooper (34) Thompson (10) Perrot (6) The Summit 13-7
21 August 9 Los Angeles W 72-71 Perrot (19) Thompson (10) Cooper (8) The Summit 14-7
22 August 11 @ Charlotte W 72-62 Cooper (39) Jackson (7) Perrot (7) Charlotte Coliseum 15-7
23 August 12 Utah W 76-56 Cooper (21) Thompson, Guyton (7) Perrot (5) The Summit 16-7
24 August 16 @ Charlotte L 71-80 Swoopes (20) Thompson (6) Perrot (7) Charlotte Coliseum 16-8
25 August 17 @ New York W 70-55 Cooper (17) Thompson, Jackson (12) Perrot (6) Madison Square Garden 17-8
26 August 19 Charlotte W 77-69 Cooper (31) Guyton (10) Thompson, Cooper (4) The Summit 18-8
27 August 21 Cleveland L 75-76 Perrot (18) Guyton (10) Cooper (9) The Summit 18-9
28 August 24 Sacramento L 58-68 Cooper (16) Thompson (9) Cooper (5) The Summit 18-10
Playoffs
Game Date Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
WNBA Semifinal August 28 Charlotte W 70-54 Cooper (31) Thompson (12) Cooper (5) The Summit
WNBA Championship August 30 New York W 65-51 Cooper (25) Jackson (11) Cooper (4) The Summit

Player stats

  • Janeth Arcain ranked second in the WNBA in Free Throw Pct with .894
  • Cynthia Cooper ranked fifth in the WNBA in assists with 131.
  • Cynthia Cooper ranked sixth in the WNBA in Field Goal Percentage (.470)
  • Cynthia Cooper ranked third in the WNBA in Free Throw Pct with .864
  • Cynthia Cooper ranked first in the WNBA in field goals with 191.
  • Cynthia Cooper ranked first in the WNBA in points with 621.
  • Cynthia Cooper ranked fifth in the WNBA in minutes per game with 35.1
  • Cynthia Cooper ranked fifth in the WNBA in steals with 59.
  • Kim Perrot ranked ninth in the WNBA in assists with 88.
  • Kim Perrot ranked third in the WNBA in steals with 69.
  • Tina Thompson ranked ninth in the WNBA in points with 370 points.-
  • Tina Thompson ranked seventh in the WNBA in total rebounds with 184
  • Tina Thompson ranked ninth in the WNBA in points per game with 13.2
  • Tina Thompson ranked seventh in the WNBA in Free Throw Pct with .838
  • Tina Thompson tied for fifth in the WNBA in blocks with 28.

Playoffs

  • Won WNBA Finals (1-0) over New York Liberty
  • Won WNBA Semifinals (1-0) over Charlotte Sting

Awards and honors

  • Cynthia Cooper, WNBA Most Valuable Player Award
  • Cynthia Cooper, WNBA Finals MVP Award
  • Cynthia Cooper, Guard, All-WNBA First Team
  • Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, Field Goals 191 [3]
  • Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, 3-Pt Field Goals, 67 [3]
  • Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, Free Throws, 172 [3]
  • Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, Free Throw Attempts, 199 [3]
  • Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, Points, 621 [3]
  • Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, Points per game, 22.2 [3]
  • Cynthia Cooper: Ranked third in the WNBA in minutes played, 982
  • Wanda Guyton: Second in WNBA (tied), Offensive Rebounds, 76 [3]
  • Tina Thompson, Forward, All-WNBA First Team
  • Van Chancellor, Coach of the Year [4]

References

  1. ^ "WNBA.com: All-Time WNBA Draft List". Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  2. ^ "Houston Comets Draft History". WNBA.com. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "1997 WNBA Season Summary".
  4. ^ "Postseason Awards: 1997". WNBA.com. Retrieved September 4, 2022.

External links

Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=1997_Houston_Comets_season&oldid=1172553541"