2004 WNBA Finals

none August 2023 WNBA 2004 Connecticut Sun Mike Thibault 1 Seattle Storm Anne Donovan 2 October 8–12 Betty Lennox (Seattle Storm) Storm:Sue Bird (2025)Lauren Jackson (2021)Sun:Lindsay Whalen (2022)Coaches:Anne Donovan (1995, player) Connecticut defeated New York, 2–0 Seattle defeated Sacramento, 2–1 The 2004 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2004 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Seattle Storm, second-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Connecticut Sun, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to one in a best-of-three series. This was Seattle's first title. The championship was the first Finals appearance for both franchises. The Storm had a 20–14 record (.588), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Sun (18–16). Road to the finals Seattle StormConnecticut Sun20–14 (.588)2nd West, 2nd overall Regular season18–16 (.529)1st East, 3rd overallDefeated the (3) Minnesota Lynx, 2–0 Conference SemifinalsDefeated the (4) Washington Mystics, 2–1Defeated the (4) Sacramento Monarchs, 2–1 Conference FinalsDefeated the (2) New York Liberty, 2–0 Regular season series The Sun and the Storm split the regular season series: #eee June 11 Recap Connecticut Sun 63 Seattle Storm |score2=68 KeyArena, Seattle #eee September 12 Recap Seattle Storm 64 Connecticut Sun |score2=71 Mohegan Sun Arena, Connecticut Game summaries All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time. Game 1 #eee October 8 7:00pm Recap Seattle Storm 64 68 Connecticut Sun 29–35 33–35 Lennox 17 Douglas 18 Edwards, Lennox 8 Sales 9 Bird 4 Whalen 9 Mohegan Sun Arena, Connecticut 9,341 Courteau Mattingly Price ESPN2 Connecticut leads series, 1–0 Katie Douglas and the Connecticut Sun took care of business at home to open the WNBA Finals. Douglas overcame an early ankle injury to score 18 points as the Sun held on for a 68–64 victory over the Seattle Storm, taking a 1–0 lead in the best-of-three championship series. The win was Connecticut's fifth straight after opening the postseason with a loss. Douglas, who suffered a minor ankle sprain in the first half, nailed three 3-pointers and hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to finish the scoring. Wendy Palmer had 16 points and Lindsay Whalen chipped in 11 and a franchise playoff-record nine assists for the Sun, who used a 14–7 run to close the first half to grab a 33–29 lead at intermission. Connecticut built its edge to 63–47 on a bucket by Asjha Jones with 7:20 remaining and survived a late 16–5 run by the Storm to get a win in its WNBA Finals debut. Betty Lennox scored 17 points and Lauren Jackson had 16 for Seattle. Lennox nailed a 3-pointer with 17 seconds remaining to pull the Storm to within two points, but they failed to convert their final three shots before the final buzzer. Game 2 #eee October 10 7:00 pm Recap Connecticut Sun 65 67 Seattle Storm 30–35 35–32 Sales 32 Lennox 27 McWilliams-Franklin 7 Jackson 11 Whalen 7 Sam 3 KeyArena, Seattle 17,072 Bell Napier Trammell ESPN2 Series tied, 1–1 Betty Lennox won her shootout with Nykesha Sales and extended the WNBA Finals to a decisive game. Lennox scored 27 points as the Seattle Storm survived a record-setting performance by Sales and held on for a 67–65 victory over the Connecticut Sun that evened the WNBA Finals at one game each. Lennox made 11-of-16 shots. She scored 16 points in the second half, when the Sun - who never led - erased a 13-point deficit and tied the game. Sales, who set a WNBA Finals record with 32 points, sank a jumper that evened it, 57–57, with 5:20 to go. Lennox answered with four points in a 6–0 burst that gave the Storm the lead for good. Katie Douglas made a 3-pointer to halve the deficit before Lennox made a jumper at the 1:41 mark. Sales had a steal and layup, but Lennox's foul line jumper pushed the lead to 67–62 with 51 seconds remaining. Sales made a 3-pointer before Lennox missed a jumper and Connecticut forced a jump ball. The Sun gained possession with 3.1 seconds left and ran a play for Sales, who hit the side of the backboard with a potential game-winning 3-pointer from the right corner. Lauren Jackson had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Sue Bird scored 10 points for the Storm, who improved to 4–0 at home in the postseason. They drew 17,072 to KeyArena for this one. Douglas scored 14 points for the Sun, who had won five straight playoff games but stumbled early in this one. They fell behind, 22–10, midway through the first half and trailed, 35–30, at halftime. Game 3 #eee October 12 9:00 pm Recap Connecticut Sun 60 74 Seattle Storm 36–37 24–37 Sales 18 Lennox 23 McWilliams-Franklin, Sales 6 Jackson 7 Douglas, McWilliams-Franklin, Whalen 2 Bird 6 KeyArena, Seattle 17,072 Corteau Gulbeyun Mattingly ESPN2 Seattle wins WNBA Finals, 2-1 The Seattle Storm got to the WNBA Finals behind stars Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird. They won their first title behind a player picked off the scrap heap. Betty Lennox scored 16 of her 23 points in the second half as the Storm won the WNBA championship with a 74–60 triumph over the Connecticut Sun in the decisive third game. Acquired in the dispersal draft from the defunct Cleveland Rockers, Lennox outshined Jackson, acknowledged as the best player in the world, and Bird, a star point guard. Lennox averaged 22.3 points in the series to earn Most Valuable Player honors. Jackson collected 13 points and seven rebounds while Bird added eight - all in the second half - and six assists. Playing in front of their second straight sellout crowd of 17,072, the Storm improved to a perfect 5–0 at KeyArena in the postseason. They won their last two series after losing the opener on the road. After Nykesha Sales hit two free throws to cut Seattle's lead to 51–46 with 13:05 left, the Storm went on a 13–2 run capped by Lennox's driving layup with 6:15 to go. Led by center Kamila Vodichkova, who scored 12 of her 14 points in the opening half, Seattle never trailed, opening a 26–14 lead with 10:17 left. Connecticut answered with a 15–3 surge over the next seven minutes to tie the game. But the Sun went cold in the second half, missing 18 of 23 shots. Shooting guard Katie Douglas characterized the team's poor shooting, finishing 0-of-11 from the floor. She scored just six points after averaging 16 in the first two games. Seattle coach Anne Donovan made history by becoming the first female coach to guide a team to the WNBA title. Awards 2004 WNBA champion: Seattle Storm Finals MVP: Betty Lennox Rosters #2E8B57 #FFC322 #B22222 #FFFFFF 2004 Seattle Storm Finals WNBA 32 Adia Barnes F 5 11 165 Arizona USA 44 Tully Bevilaqua G 5 7 140 Australia AUS 10 Sue Bird G 5 9 150 Connecticut USA 33 Janell Burse C 6 5 199 Tulane USA 4 Simone Edwards C 6 4 164 Iowa USA 50 Trina Frierson F 6 2 186 Louisiana Tech USA yes 20 Michelle Greco G 5 9 145 UCLA USA 15 Lauren Jackson F/C 6 5 187 Australia Australia 22 Betty Lennox G 5 8 143 Louisiana Tech USA 55 Sheri Sam G/F 6 0 160 Vanderbilt USA 43 Alicia Thompson F 6 1 180 Texas Tech USA 7 Kamila Vodichkova F/C 6 4 185 Czech Republic Czech Republic USA Anne Donovan Old Dominion USA Jenny Boucek Virginia USA Jessie Kenlaw Savannah State University USA Annmarie Henkel 1 George Washington University #092C57 #FFC322 #B22222 #FFFFFF 2004 Connecticut Sun Finals WNBA 24 Debbie Black G 5 3 124 St. Joseph's USA 22 Jessica Brungo F 6 1 165 Penn State USA 34 Jennifer Derevjanik G 5 10 140 George Mason USA 32 Katie Douglas basketball G/F 6 0 165 Purdue USA 12 Candace Futrell G 5 6 135 Texas USA 12 Margo Dydek C 7 2 223 Poland Poland 15 Asjha Jones F 6 2 196 Connecticut USA 11 Taj McWilliams-Franklin F/C 6 2 184 St. Edward's College USA 3 Wendy Palmer F 6 2 165 Virginia USA 42 Nykesha Sales G/F 6 0 175 Connecticut USA 13 Lindsay Whalen G 5 8 150 Minnesota USA 43 Le'Coe Willingham F 6 0 200 Auburn USA 21 Brooke Wyckoff F 6 1 183 Florida State USA yes USA Mike Thibault St. Martin's University USA Scott Hawk 1 Nebraska-Omaha USA Bernadette Mattox 1 Georgia USA Lisa Ciaravella 1 Lynn University USA Jen Brodeur 1 External links Finals Category:Connecticut Sun Category:Seattle Storm Category:2004 in sports in Connecticut Category:2004 in sports in Washington (state) Category:WNBA Finals Category:Basketball competitions in Seattle Category:Basketball competitions in Connecticut Category:2004 in Seattle Category:October 2004 sports events in the United States Category:Sports competitions in Uncasville, Connecticut