1997 WNBA playoffs

Professional women's basketball tournament August 2023 1997 WNBA playoffs August 28–30, 1997 Houston Comets (Finals Champion) New York Liberty Scoring leader(s) Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (Houston) 56 MVP Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (Houston) 1998 The 1997 WNBA playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 1997 season which ended with the Houston Comets beating the New York Liberty, 1-0 (65-51). Cynthia Cooper was named the MVP of the Finals. This was the first year of WNBA playoffs. Regular season standings Eastern Conference Western Conference Note: Teams with an "X" clinched playoff spots. Bracket For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in the league were seeded one to four. Houston was in the Eastern Conference so two Eastern Conference teams matched up in the WNBA Championship. Semifinalssingle game WNBA Championshipsingle game 1 Houston 70 4 Charlotte 54 2 New York 59 3 Phoenix 41 1 Houston 65 2 New York 51Bold – Game winner Italic – Team with home-court advantage Semifinals Charlotte Sting vs. Houston Comets CHA v HOU #e3e3e3 August 28 Recap Charlotte Sting 54 Houston Comets 70 33–29 21–41 Congreaves, Mapp 12 each Vicky Bullett 9 Rhonda Mapp 5 Cynthia Cooper 31 Tina Thompson 12 Cynthia Cooper 5 The Summit, Houston, Texas 11,510 Sally Bell, Scott Yarbrough, Patty Broderick NBC Hannah Storm, Ann Meyers, Lisa Malosky New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury NY v PHX #e3e3e3 August 28 Recap New York Liberty 59 Phoenix Mercury 41 23–18 36–23 Rebecca Lobo 16 Kym Hampton 14 Teresa Weatherspoon 5 Gillom, Askamp 9 each Jennifer Gillom 7 Webb, Pettis 2 each America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona 16,751 Bob Trammel, June Courteau, Violet Palmer ESPN/Lifetime Michele Tafoya, Reggie Miller, Meghan Pattyson, Summer Sanders, Maura Driscoll WNBA Championship 1997 WNBA Championship NY v HOU #e3e3e3 August 30 Recap New York Liberty 51 Houston Comets 65 24–28 27–37 Kym Hampton 13 Kym Hampton 13 Teresa Weatherspoon 5 Cynthia Cooper 25 Tammy Jackson 11 Cynthia Cooper 4 The Summit, Houston, Texas 16,285 Violet Palmer, June Courteau, Sally Bell WNBA.com: WNBA Playoffs History: 1997 References Playoffs Category:WNBA playoffs