1998 WNBA Championship

Basketball tournament August 2023 WNBA 1998 WNBA Championship 1998 1998 WNBA Finals logo.png Houston Comets Van Chancellor 2 Phoenix Mercury Cheryl Miller 1 August 27-September 1 Cynthia Cooper (Houston Comets) Comets:Cynthia Cooper (2010)Sheryl Swoopes (2016)Tina Thompson (2018)Mercury:Michele Timms (2024)Coaches:Van Chancellor (2007)Cheryl Miller (1995, player) Phoenix defeated Cleveland 2-1 Houston defeated Charlotte 2-0 The 1998 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 1998 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, top-seeded team of the league, defeated the Phoenix Mercury, third-seeded team of the league, two games to one in a best-of-three series. This was Houston's second straight title. The Comets made their second appearance in the Finals in two years. The Mercury appeared in the Finals for the first time in franchise history. Going into the series, the Comets had won the only championship, being it only the second season of the league's existence. The Comets' 27–3 record gave them home court advantage over Phoenix (19–11). The Comets lost game 1 in Phoenix, but won games 2 and 3 to take the series. Road to the finals Houston CometsPhoenix Mercury27–3 (.900)1st West, 1st overall Regular season19–11 (.633)2nd West, 3rd overallDefeated the (4) Charlotte Sting, 2–0 WNBA SemifinalsDefeated the (2) Cleveland Rockers, 2–1 Regular season series The Houston Comets won 2 of the 3 games in the regular season series: #eee June 24 https://web.archive.org/web/19990210070528/http://www.wnba.com/games98/980624/HOUPHO/boxscore.html February 10, 1999 Recap Houston Comets 66 Phoenix Mercury |score2=69 America West Arena, Phoenix 12,622 #fff July 21 https://web.archive.org/web/19990221011624/http://www.wnba.com/games98/980721/HOUPHO/boxscore.html February 21, 1999 Recap Houston Comets |score1=65 Phoenix Mercury 62 America West Arena, Phoenix 14,705 #eee August 6 https://web.archive.org/web/19990224133513/http://www.wnba.com/games98/980806/PHOHOU/boxscore.html February 24, 1999 Recap Phoenix Mercury 64 Houston Comets |score2=75 Compaq Center, Houston 16,285 Game summaries All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time. Game 1 #eee August 27 7:00pm https://web.archive.org/web/19990418080614/http://www.wnba.com/games98/980827/houpho/boxscore.html April 18, 1999 Recap Houston Comets 51 54 Phoenix Mercury 29–33 22–21 Cooper 29 Gillom 15 Swoopes 11 Griffiths 12 Perrot, Swoopes 6 Timms 5 O REB: Perrot 4 (5 tot REB) Rebs: Gillom 10 America West Arena, Phoenix 13,634 Corteau Stokes Kennedy ESPN Jennifer Gillom's basket in the lane with 8.9 seconds left gave the Phoenix Mercury a 54–51 victory over the Houston Comets in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals. Gillom, who helped set up her go-ahead shot by blocking a shot by Houston's Kim Perrot on the previous possession, finished with 15 points on just 5-of-20 shooting. She also grabbed 10 rebounds. The Mercury, who finished eight games behind the Comets in the Western Conference, could now win the title with a victory at Houston on Game Two. Phoenix handed Houston its fourth loss all season (another also being against Phoenix in the regular season). League MVP Cynthia Cooper was a one-woman show for the Comets, finishing with 29 points. The rest of the team—which includes first-team All-WNBA choices Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson—managed to hit just 10-of-41 shots. Game 2 #eee August 29 7:00 pm https://web.archive.org/web/19990202115152/http://www.wnba.com/games98/980829/phohou/boxscore.html February 2, 1999 Recap Phoenix Mercury 69 74 Houston Comets 37–32 29–34 3–8 Timms 21 Cooper 27 Gillom 9 Swoopes 13 Griffiths 3 Cooper 6 Blocks: Gillom 3 FG: Lamb 6-10 Compaq Center, Houston 16,285 Bell Price Zielinski NBC Cynthia Cooper scored 19 of her 27 points after halftime as the defending champion Houston Comets forced a decisive third game in the WNBA Finals with a 74-69 overtime victory over the Phoenix Mercury. Sheryl Swoopes added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Comets, who host Game 3. Houston, which won 27 of 30 regular-season games, lost Game 1 at Phoenix and trailed 62-50 with 7:24 to play before staging a furious rally to save its season. Michele Timms scored 21 points before fouling out in the final minute and reserve Kristi Harrower added a career-high 12 for Phoenix, which seemingly had taken control of the game with a 12–2 run midway through the second half. Jennifer Gillom, who averaged a team-high 20.8 points per game for the Mercury, scored just eight on 3-of-15 shooting. Phoenix, which led almost the entire second half, held a 50–48 edge with 11:43 to go after Cooper sank a foul shot following a technical foul on Mercury coach Cheryl Miller, which seemed to light a spark under the Mercury. Houston sensed the urgency and clawed back into the game. Yolanda Moore had a basket off an offensive rebound before Cooper added a free throw and eight-foot bank shot to make it 62–55 with 5:02 left. Houston shot 43 percent (28-of-65) from the field and Thompson finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Cooper was 11-of-14 from the line. The Mercury shot just 38 percent (24-of-63) but did hit 7-of-15 three-point shots. Game 3 #eee September 1 7:00 pm https://web.archive.org/web/19990202165725/http://www.wnba.com/games98/980901/phohou/boxscore_live.html February 2, 1999 Recap Phoenix Mercury 71 80 Houston Comets 26–32 45–48 Griffiths 24 Cooper 23 Gillom 6 Thompson 6 Timms 7 Cooper, Swoopes 6 FG: Griffiths 10-16 FG: Thompson 7-12 Compaq Center, Houston 16,285 Corteau Kennedy Zielinski ESPN The Houston Comets claimed their second straight WNBA championship, pulling away from the pesky Phoenix Mercury late in the second half and claiming an 80–71 victory in decisive Game 3. After cruising through the regular season with a 27–3 record, the Comets were pushed to the limit by the Mercury after finishing eight games ahead of them in the Western Conference. In the end, however, Houston's trio of stars ensured the repeat. League MVP Cynthia Cooper scored 23 points and Tina Thompson added 18. Sheryl Swoopes, nearly invisible for the first 30 minutes, had 11 points in the final 9:13 and finished with 16. Michelle Griffiths scored a career-high 24 points and Jennifer Gillom had her best game of the series, netting 20. But Phoenix got nothing from Michele Timms, who finished with only two points—19 fewer than she had in Game 2. The Comets had now won what was until then the only two WNBA championship series. Awards 1998 WNBA champion: Houston Comets Finals MVP: Cynthia Cooper Rosters 1998 Houston Comets Finals WNBA #B22222 #D3D3D3 #D3D3D3 #FFFFFF 4 Janeth Arcain F 5 11 147 Brazil BRA 14 Cynthia Cooper Cynthia Cooper-Dyke G 5 10 150 USC USA 23 Tammy Jackson F 6 2 190 Florida USA 40 Monica Lamb C 6 5 206 USC USA 33 Yolanda Moore F 6 0 175 Mississippi USA 10 Kim Perrot G 5 5 130 Southwestern Louisiana USA 00 Nyree Roberts C 6 2 209 Old Dominion USA 22 Sheryl Swoopes F 6 0 145 Texas Tech USA 7 Tina Thompson F 6 2 178 USC USA 13 Amaya Valdemoro F 6 1 160 Spain ESP 5 Tiffany Woosley G 5 7 132 Tennessee USA USA Van Chancellor Mississippi State 1998 Phoenix Mercury Finals WNBA #4B0082 #FFFF00 #DC143C #FFFFFF 14 Marlies Askamp C 6 5 198 Germany Germany 0 Toni Foster F 6 1 175 Iowa USA 22 Jennifer Gillom F 6 3 180 Mississippi USA 12 Michelle Griffiths F 6 1 177 Australia AUS 4 Kristi Harrower G 5 4 139 Australia AUS 15 Andrea Kuklova G 6 0 150 Slovakia Slovakia 32 Bridget Pettis G 5 9 150 Florida USA 13 Brandy Reed F 6 1 168 Southern Mississippi USA 8 Maria Stepanova C 6 8 187 Russia RUS 7 Michele Timms G 5 7 132 Australia AUS 21 Umeki Webb G 5 10 162 North Carolina State USA USA Cheryl Miller USC References Finals Category:Houston Comets Category:Phoenix Mercury Category:1998 in sports in Texas Category:1998 in sports in Arizona Category:WNBA Finals Category:August 1998 sports events in the United States Category:September 1998 sports events in the United States Category:1998 in Houston Category:1990s in Phoenix, Arizona Category:Basketball competitions in Houston Category:Basketball competitions in Phoenix, Arizona