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1997 WNBA Season Summary

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League Standings

Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
Eastern Conference W L W-L% GB PS/G PA/G PW PL
Houston Comets* 18 10 .643 — 71.8 65.5 22 6
New York Liberty* 17 11 .607 1.0 68.3 65.9 17 11
Charlotte Sting* 15 13 .536 3.0 67.3 66.0 16 12
Cleveland Rockers 15 13 .536 3.0 70.2 68.4 16 12
Western Conference W L W-L% GB PS/G PA/G PW PL
Phoenix Mercury* 16 12 .571 — 69.2 65.2 20 8
Los Angeles Sparks 14 14 .500 2.0 74.0 71.8 17 11
Sacramento Monarchs 10 18 .357 6.0 67.9 75.4 5 23
Utah Starzz 7 21 .250 9.0 64.6 75.1 3 25

Playoffs

SeriesResult
Finals Houston Comets over New York Liberty, 1-0
Semifinals Houston Comets over Charlotte Sting, 1-0
Semifinals New York Liberty over Phoenix Mercury, 1-0

Team Stats

Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
Rk Team G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PPG Pace ORtg
1 Los Angeles Sparks 28 5725 794 1782 .446 65 242 .269 419 620 .676 290 683 973 495 259 138 528 601 2072 74.0 92.5 93.9
2 Houston Comets* 28 5650 700 1660 .422 169 485 .348 441 592 .745 316 543 859 389 311 67 492 535 2010 71.8 85.9 99.4
3 Cleveland Rockers 28 5675 725 1633 .444 65 177 .367 450 623 .722 267 624 891 456 256 86 526 514 1965 70.2 88.0 94.4
4 Phoenix Mercury* 28 5675 660 1768 .373 134 436 .307 484 634 .763 322 599 921 437 343 80 475 570 1938 69.2 89.6 91.4
5 New York Liberty* 28 5675 707 1715 .412 93 339 .274 404 607 .666 320 600 920 484 289 116 536 556 1911 68.3 89.2 90.6
6 Sacramento Monarchs 28 5650 704 1732 .406 101 345 .293 393 536 .733 341 538 879 404 263 60 562 593 1902 67.9 89.4 90.4
7 Charlotte Sting* 28 5600 719 1651 .435 110 321 .343 337 487 .692 279 635 914 485 219 116 496 465 1885 67.3 87.0 92.9
8 Utah Starzz 28 5650 666 1781 .374 106 349 .304 371 528 .703 339 612 951 425 252 123 520 567 1809 64.6 90.0 85.4
League Average 28 5663 709 1715 .414 105 337 .313 412 578 .713 309 604 914 447 274 98 517 550 1937 69.2 89.0 92.3

Opponent Stats

Playoff teams are marked with an asterisk (*)
Rk Team G MP FG FGA FG% 3P 3PA 3P% FT FTA FT% ORB DRB TRB AST STL BLK TOV PF PTS PPG Pace DRtg
1 Phoenix Mercury* 28 5675 670 1622 .413 89 313 .284 397 589 .674 275 649 924 408 243 114 599 598 1826 65.2 89.6 86.1
2 Houston Comets* 28 5650 679 1630 .417 91 305 .298 384 545 .705 296 557 853 405 237 102 537 558 1833 65.5 85.9 90.7
3 New York Liberty* 28 5675 661 1690 .391 106 320 .331 416 564 .738 327 604 931 397 278 87 570 563 1844 65.9 89.2 87.4
4 Charlotte Sting* 28 5600 686 1707 .402 118 366 .322 359 513 .700 288 597 885 432 276 72 464 488 1849 66.0 87.0 91.1
5 Cleveland Rockers 28 5675 709 1715 .413 122 356 .343 375 533 .704 306 563 869 464 303 96 494 599 1915 68.4 88.0 92.0
6 Los Angeles Sparks 28 5725 719 1812 .397 95 343 .277 477 649 .735 323 597 920 457 287 82 505 575 2010 71.8 92.5 91.1
7 Utah Starzz 28 5650 776 1808 .429 115 376 .306 436 606 .719 328 680 1008 498 278 119 458 501 2103 75.1 90.0 99.2
8 Sacramento Monarchs 28 5650 775 1738 .446 107 315 .340 455 628 .725 331 587 918 514 290 114 508 519 2112 75.4 89.4 100.4
League Average 28 5663 709 1715 .414 105 337 .313 412 578 .713 309 604 914 447 274 98 517 550 1937 69.2 89.0 92.3

League Leaders

Rate statistic requirements
Minutes Played
1. Chantel Tremitiere-SAC 1051
2. Andrea Stinson-CHA 1011
3. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 982
4. Bridgette Gordon-SAC 981
5. Michele Timms-PHO 966
6. Eva Nemcova-CLE 944
7. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 939
8. Wendy Palmer-UTA 936
9. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL 924
10. Elena Baranova-UTA 913
Field Goals
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 191
2. Andrea Stinson-CHA 177
3. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 164
4. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 163
5. Lisa Leslie-LAS 160
6. Wendy Palmer-UTA 157
7. Vicky Bullett-CHA 145
8. Penny Toler-LAS 144
9. Sophia Witherspoon-NYL 140
10. Eva Nemcova-CLE 138
Field Goal Attempts
1. Wendy Palmer-UTA 420
2. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 408
3. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 406
4. Andrea Stinson-CHA 396
5. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 376
6. Lisa Leslie-LAS 371
7. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 354
8. Sophia Witherspoon-NYL 345
9. Penny Toler-LAS 338
10. Elena Baranova-UTA 331
3-Pt Field Goals
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 67
2. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 66
3. Michele Timms-PHO 49
4. Sophia Witherspoon-NYL 44
5. Bridget Pettis-PHO 41
6. Elena Baranova-UTA 40
7. Eva Nemcova-CLE 37
  Tina Thompson-HOU 37
9. Tammi Reiss-UTA 30
10. Kim Perrot-HOU 28
3-Pt Field Goal Attempts
1. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 192
2. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 162
3. Michele Timms-PHO 142
4. Bridget Pettis-PHO 134
5. Sophia Witherspoon-NYL 126
6. Elena Baranova-UTA 106
7. Tammi Reiss-UTA 101
8. Tina Thompson-HOU 100
9. Kim Perrot-HOU 99
10. Eva Nemcova-CLE 85
Free Throws
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 172
2. Wendy Palmer-UTA 117
3. Lisa Leslie-LAS 113
4. Janice Braxton-CLE 106
5. Bridget Pettis-PHO 97
6. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 94
7. Bridgette Gordon-SAC 84
8. Sophia Witherspoon-NYL 83
9. Rhonda Mapp-CHA 82
10. Isabelle Fijalkowski-CLE 81
Free Throw Attempts
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 199
2. Lisa Leslie-LAS 189
3. Wendy Palmer-UTA 173
4. Janice Braxton-CLE 138
5. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 121
6. Kym Hampton-NYL 114
7. Pamela McGee-SAC 112
8. Sophia Witherspoon-NYL 111
9. Bridget Pettis-PHO 108
10. Bridgette Gordon-SAC 107
Offensive Rebounds
1. Latasha Byears-SAC 87
2. Wendy Palmer-UTA 76
  Wanda Guyton-HOU 76
4. Tina Thompson-HOU 67
  Bridgette Gordon-SAC 67
6. Vicky Bullett-CHA 66
  Marlies Askamp-PHO 66
8. Toni Foster-PHO 64
9. Lisa Leslie-LAS 63
10. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 62
  Isabelle Fijalkowski-CLE 62
Defensive Rebounds
1. Lisa Leslie-LAS 203
2. Elena Baranova-UTA 151
  Janice Braxton-CLE 151
4. Wendy Palmer-UTA 149
5. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 141
6. Tina Thompson-HOU 117
7. Vicky Bullett-CHA 112
8. Kym Hampton-NYL 111
9. Toni Foster-PHO 108
10. Andrea Stinson-CHA 107
Total Rebounds
1. Lisa Leslie-LAS 266
2. Wendy Palmer-UTA 225
3. Elena Baranova-UTA 207
4. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 203
5. Latasha Byears-SAC 193
6. Janice Braxton-CLE 189
7. Tina Thompson-HOU 184
8. Vicky Bullett-CHA 178
9. Toni Foster-PHO 172
10. Kym Hampton-NYL 163
Assists
1. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL 172
2. Penny Toler-LAS 143
3. Michele Timms-PHO 137
4. Chantel Tremitiere-SAC 135
5. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 131
6. Andrea Stinson-CHA 124
7. Jamila Wideman-LAS 103
8. Michelle Edwards-CLE 89
9. Kim Perrot-HOU 88
10. Tammi Reiss-UTA 87
Steals
1. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL 85
2. Michele Timms-PHO 71
3. Kim Perrot-HOU 69
4. Umeki Webb-PHO 68
5. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 59
6. Vicky Bullett-CHA 54
  Chantel Tremitiere-SAC 54
  Ruthie Bolton-SAC 54
9. Toni Foster-PHO 53
10. Bridget Pettis-PHO 49
  Tamecka Dixon-LAS 49
  Sophia Witherspoon-NYL 49
Blocks
1. Elena Baranova-UTA 63
2. Lisa Leslie-LAS 59
3. Vicky Bullett-CHA 55
4. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 51
5. Janice Braxton-CLE 28
  Tina Thompson-HOU 28
7. Andrea Stinson-CHA 21
  Toni Foster-PHO 21
9. Haixia Zheng-LAS 20
10. Kym Hampton-NYL 19
Turnovers
1. Chantel Tremitiere-SAC 122
2. Lisa Leslie-LAS 109
  Cynthia Cooper-HOU 109
4. Penny Toler-LAS 107
5. Andrea Stinson-CHA 99
6. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL 94
7. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 88
8. Bridgette Gordon-SAC 83
9. Bridget Pettis-PHO 82
  Elena Baranova-UTA 82
Personal Fouls
1. Isabelle Fijalkowski-CLE 129
2. Pamela McGee-SAC 113
3. Tina Thompson-HOU 107
4. Rhonda Mapp-CHA 104
5. Lisa Leslie-LAS 99
6. Latasha Byears-SAC 98
7. Michele Timms-PHO 95
8. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 93
9. Umeki Webb-PHO 92
10. Wendy Palmer-UTA 86
Points
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 621
2. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 447
3. Lisa Leslie-LAS 445
4. Wendy Palmer-UTA 443
5. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 440
6. Andrea Stinson-CHA 439
7. Sophia Witherspoon-NYL 407
8. Eva Nemcova-CLE 384
9. Tina Thompson-HOU 370
10. Penny Toler-LAS 368
Field Goal Pct
1. Haixia Zheng-LAS .618
2. Isabelle Fijalkowski-CLE .508
3. Rhonda Mapp-CHA .492
4. Eva Nemcova-CLE .473
5. Kym Hampton-NYL .471
6. Cynthia Cooper-HOU .470
7. Toni Foster-PHO .468
8. Pamela McGee-SAC .460
9. Latasha Byears-SAC .459
10. Tamecka Dixon-LAS .456
3-Pt Field Goal Pct
1. Eva Nemcova-CLE .435
2. Tamecka Dixon-LAS .423
3. Cynthia Cooper-HOU .414
4. Tora Suber-CHA .397
5. Elena Baranova-UTA .377
6. Tina Thompson-HOU .370
7. Sophia Witherspoon-NYL .349
8. Nicole Levesque-CHA .348
9. Michele Timms-PHO .345
10. Ruthie Bolton-SAC .344
Free Throw Pct
1. Bridget Pettis-PHO .898
2. Janeth Arcain-HOU .894
3. Cynthia Cooper-HOU .864
4. Eva Nemcova-CLE .855
5. Dena Head-UTA .844
6. Penny Toler-LAS .839
7. Tina Thompson-HOU .838
8. Isabelle Fijalkowski-CLE .786
9. Bridgette Gordon-SAC .785
10. Jennifer Gillom-PHO .777
Minutes Per Game
1. Chantel Tremitiere-SAC 37.5
2. Andrea Stinson-CHA 36.1
3. Michele Timms-PHO 35.8
4. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 35.3
5. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 35.1
6. Bridgette Gordon-SAC 35.0
7. Eva Nemcova-CLE 33.7
8. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 33.5
9. Wendy Palmer-UTA 33.4
10. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL 33.0
Points Per Game
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 22.2
2. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 19.4
3. Lisa Leslie-LAS 15.9
4. Wendy Palmer-UTA 15.8
5. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 15.7
6. Andrea Stinson-CHA 15.7
7. Sophia Witherspoon-NYL 14.5
8. Eva Nemcova-CLE 13.7
9. Tina Thompson-HOU 13.2
10. Penny Toler-LAS 13.1
Rebounds Per Game
1. Lisa Leslie-LAS 9.5
2. Wendy Palmer-UTA 8.0
3. Janice Braxton-CLE 7.6
4. Elena Baranova-UTA 7.4
5. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 7.2
6. Latasha Byears-SAC 6.9
7. Tina Thompson-HOU 6.6
8. Vicky Bullett-CHA 6.4
9. Toni Foster-PHO 6.1
10. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 5.8
Assists Per Game
1. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL 6.1
2. Penny Toler-LAS 5.1
3. Michele Timms-PHO 5.1
4. Chantel Tremitiere-SAC 4.8
5. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 4.7
6. Michelle Edwards-CLE 4.5
7. Andrea Stinson-CHA 4.4
8. Jamila Wideman-LAS 3.7
9. Kim Perrot-HOU 3.1
10. Tammi Reiss-UTA 3.1
Steals Per Game
1. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL 3.0
2. Michele Timms-PHO 2.6
3. Kim Perrot-HOU 2.5
4. Umeki Webb-PHO 2.4
5. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 2.3
6. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 2.1
7. Vicky Bullett-CHA 1.9
  Chantel Tremitiere-SAC 1.9
9. Toni Foster-PHO 1.9
10. Tamecka Dixon-LAS 1.8
Blocks Per Game
1. Elena Baranova-UTA 2.2
2. Lisa Leslie-LAS 2.1
3. Vicky Bullett-CHA 2.0
4. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 1.8
5. Janice Braxton-CLE 1.1
6. Tina Thompson-HOU 1.0
7. Toni Foster-PHO 0.8
  Andrea Stinson-CHA 0.8
9. Haixia Zheng-LAS 0.7
10. Kym Hampton-NYL 0.7
Player Efficiency Rating
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 32.2
2. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 23.6
3. Vicky Bullett-CHA 22.1
4. Lisa Leslie-LAS 21.6
5. Rhonda Mapp-CHA 20.9
6. Kym Hampton-NYL 20.7
7. Andrea Stinson-CHA 20.5
8. Rushia Brown-CLE 20.2
9. Haixia Zheng-LAS 20.2
10. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 19.3
True Shooting Pct
1. Haixia Zheng-LAS .635
2. Cynthia Cooper-HOU .629
3. Andrea Congreaves-CHA .621
4. Eva Nemcova-CLE .584
  Linda Burgess-LAS .584
6. Rushia Brown-CLE .579
7. Isabelle Fijalkowski-CLE .570
8. Rhonda Mapp-CHA .561
9. Tamecka Dixon-LAS .550
10. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL .541
Effective Field Goal Pct
1. Haixia Zheng-LAS .618
2. Cynthia Cooper-HOU .553
3. Eva Nemcova-CLE .536
4. Isabelle Fijalkowski-CLE .510
5. Rhonda Mapp-CHA .500
  Tamecka Dixon-LAS .500
7. Ruthie Bolton-SAC .483
8. Andrea Stinson-CHA .479
9. Tina Thompson-HOU .476
10. Kym Hampton-NYL .471
Offensive Rebound Pct
1. Latasha Byears-SAC 16.1
2. Marlies Askamp-PHO 14.9
3. Wanda Guyton-HOU 14.7
4. Rushia Brown-CLE 12.8
5. Sharon Manning-CHA 12.3
6. Linda Burgess-LAS 12.1
7. Isabelle Fijalkowski-CLE 10.6
8. Toni Foster-PHO 10.2
9. Tammy Jackson-HOU 10.0
10. Tina Thompson-HOU 9.8
Defensive Rebound Pct
1. Lisa Leslie-LAS 25.6
2. Janice Braxton-CLE 22.4
3. Latasha Byears-SAC 21.0
4. Kym Hampton-NYL 20.5
5. Marlies Askamp-PHO 20.1
6. Elena Baranova-UTA 19.9
7. Wendy Palmer-UTA 19.1
8. Toni Foster-PHO 19.1
9. Haixia Zheng-LAS 18.6
10. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 18.4
Total Rebound Pct
1. Latasha Byears-SAC 18.5
2. Lisa Leslie-LAS 17.8
3. Marlies Askamp-PHO 17.4
4. Kym Hampton-NYL 15.1
5. Janice Braxton-CLE 14.8
6. Linda Burgess-LAS 14.4
7. Toni Foster-PHO 14.4
8. Rushia Brown-CLE 14.3
9. Tammy Jackson-HOU 14.0
10. Sharon Manning-CHA 13.9
Assist Pct
1. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL 33.6
2. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 31.4
3. Michele Timms-PHO 29.6
4. Penny Toler-LAS 29.5
5. Michelle Edwards-CLE 27.7
6. Andrea Stinson-CHA 26.3
7. Jamila Wideman-LAS 24.9
8. Kim Perrot-HOU 23.8
9. Chantel Tremitiere-SAC 23.0
10. Kim Williams-UTA 22.2
Steal Pct
1. Kim Perrot-HOU 5.6
2. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL 5.0
3. Umeki Webb-PHO 4.7
4. Tammy Jackson-HOU 4.6
5. Michele Timms-PHO 3.9
6. Toni Foster-PHO 3.9
7. Rushia Brown-CLE 3.6
8. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 3.6
9. Tamecka Dixon-LAS 3.6
10. Lynette Woodard-CLE 3.5
Block Pct
1. Elena Baranova-UTA 5.4
2. Vicky Bullett-CHA 5.2
3. Lisa Leslie-LAS 5.1
4. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 4.5
5. Janice Braxton-CLE 2.8
6. Haixia Zheng-LAS 2.8
7. Tina Thompson-HOU 2.7
8. Toni Foster-PHO 2.5
9. Kym Hampton-NYL 2.4
10. Rushia Brown-CLE 2.3
Turnover Pct
1. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 11.7
2. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 11.9
3. Wendy Palmer-UTA 12.5
4. Vickie Johnson-NYL 14.7
5. Tina Thompson-HOU 14.9
6. Rushia Brown-CLE 15.2
7. Kym Hampton-NYL 15.8
8. Vicky Bullett-CHA 15.9
9. Janice Braxton-CLE 16.3
10. Sophia Witherspoon-NYL 16.4
Usage Pct
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 28.7
2. Lisa Leslie-LAS 27.7
3. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 27.3
4. Wendy Palmer-UTA 27.0
5. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 25.1
6. Andrea Stinson-CHA 25.1
7. Sophia Witherspoon-NYL 24.5
8. Merlakia Jones-CLE 24.4
9. Bridget Pettis-PHO 24.1
10. Rhonda Mapp-CHA 24.0
Offensive Rating
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 119.2
2. Andrea Congreaves-CHA 116.9
3. Rushia Brown-CLE 112.7
4. Haixia Zheng-LAS 107.2
5. Tina Thompson-HOU 105.3
6. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 105.2
7. Isabelle Fijalkowski-CLE 104.7
8. Eva Nemcova-CLE 103.9
9. Rhonda Mapp-CHA 103.8
10. Janice Braxton-CLE 103.5
Defensive Rating
1. Toni Foster-PHO 82.5
2. Kym Hampton-NYL 83.4
3. Umeki Webb-PHO 83.7
4. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL 84.4
5. Lisa Leslie-LAS 85.1
6. Tammy Jackson-HOU 85.4
7. Vicky Bullett-CHA 86.1
8. Marlies Askamp-PHO 86.1
9. Michele Timms-PHO 86.5
10. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 87.0
Offensive Win Shares
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 8.1
2. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 3.5
3. Tina Thompson-HOU 3.2
4. Eva Nemcova-CLE 2.9
5. Isabelle Fijalkowski-CLE 2.9
6. Rhonda Mapp-CHA 2.7
7. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 2.7
8. Bridgette Gordon-SAC 2.5
9. Andrea Stinson-CHA 2.4
10. Janice Braxton-CLE 2.4
Defensive Win Shares
1. Teresa Weatherspoon-NYL 2.4
2. Lisa Leslie-LAS 2.2
3. Michele Timms-PHO 2.1
4. Toni Foster-PHO 2.1
5. Umeki Webb-PHO 2.1
6. Vicky Bullett-CHA 2.0
7. Rebecca Lobo-NYL 2.0
8. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 1.8
9. Kym Hampton-NYL 1.8
10. Bridget Pettis-PHO 1.7
Win Shares
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU 9.4
2. Jennifer Gillom-PHO 4.5
3. Tina Thompson-HOU 4.3
4. Vicky Bullett-CHA 4.2
5. Michele Timms-PHO 4.0
6. Janice Braxton-CLE 3.9
7. Andrea Stinson-CHA 3.8
8. Ruthie Bolton-SAC 3.8
9. Eva Nemcova-CLE 3.8
10. Rhonda Mapp-CHA 3.7
Win Shares Per 48 Minutes
1. Cynthia Cooper-HOU .462
2. Rushia Brown-CLE .275
3. Kym Hampton-NYL .263
4. Rhonda Mapp-CHA .251
5. Jennifer Gillom-PHO .245
6. Tina Thompson-HOU .234
7. Haixia Zheng-LAS .234
8. Vicky Bullett-CHA .232
9. Toni Foster-PHO .229
10. Andrea Congreaves-CHA .229
    

League Awards

Most Valuable Player: Cynthia Cooper
Defensive Player of the Year: Teresa Weatherspoon

All-WNBA Teams

1st Team
Ruthie Bolton
Cynthia Cooper
Lisa Leslie
Eva Nemcova
Tina Thompson
 2nd Team
Jennifer Gillom
Rebecca Lobo
Wendy Palmer
Andrea Stinson
Teresa Weatherspoon