1998 WNBA Championship - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

style="font-size: medium;" | **1998 WNBA Championship**
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Team	Coach	Wins
Houston Comets Houston Comets The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...	Van Chancellor Van Chancellor Van Chancellor is the former Louisiana State University women's basketball coach. He was named head coach on April 11, 2007, replacing Pokey Chatman. In 2001, Van Chancellor was elected to the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Knoxville, Tennessee...	2
Phoenix Mercury Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...	Cheryl Miller	1

Dates: August 27-September 1 MVP: Cynthia Cooper

Cynthia Cooper

Cynthia Lynne Cooper is a former American basketball player who has won championships in college, the Olympics, and in the Women's National Basketball Association . She is considered by many as one of the greatest women's basketball players ever. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the...

(Houston Comets) Television
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...

: NBC Referees
Official (basketball)
In basketball, an official is a person who has the responsibility to enforce the rules and maintain the order of the game. The title of official also applies to the scorers and timekeepers, as well as other personnel that have an active task in maintaining the game...

: Game 1: Corteau, Stokes, Kennedy Game 2: Bell, Price, Zielinski Game 3: Corteau, Kennedy, Zielinski Semifinal 1 vs 4: Houston

Houston Comets

The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...

defeated Charlotte

Charlotte Sting

The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007....

2-0 Semifinal 2 vs 3: Phoenix

Phoenix Mercury

The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...

defeated Cleveland

Cleveland Rockers

This article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which...

2-1 tyle="width:100%; border:1px; border-collapse:collapse; background:#eee;"> lign="center" colspan="2"|WNBA Finals
WNBA Finals
The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the sport's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002....

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The 1998 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 1998 WNBA season

1998 WNBA season

-External links:**...

, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets

Houston Comets

, top-seeded team of the league, defeated the Phoenix Mercury

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 Comets		Phoenix Mercury
27–3 (.900) 1st West, 1st overall	Regular season 1998 WNBA season -External links:**...	19–11 (.633) 2nd West, 3rd overall
Defeated the (4) Charlotte Sting Charlotte Sting The Charlotte Sting was a Women's National Basketball Association franchise based in Charlotte, North Carolina and it was one of the league's eight original teams. The team folded on January 3, 2007.... , 2–0	WNBA Semifinals	Defeated the (2) Cleveland Rockers Cleveland Rockers This article is about the defunct WNBA team; for the American Basketball Association team, see Cleveland Rockers .The Cleveland Rockers were a Women's National Basketball Association team that played from 1997 until 2003. The Rockers were one of the original eight franchises of the WNBA, which... , 2–1

Regular season series

The Houston Comets

Houston Comets

won 2 of the 3 games in the regular season series:

Game 1

Jennifer Gillom

Jennifer "Grandmama" Gillom is a former WNBA basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury from 1997 to 2002...

's basket in the lane with 8.9 seconds left gave the Phoenix Mercury

Phoenix Mercury

a 54-51 victory over the Houston Comets

Houston Comets

in Game 1 of the WNBA Finals

WNBA Finals

The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association and the conclusion of the sport's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002....

.

Gillom, who helped set up her go-ahead shot by blocking a shot by Houston's Kim Perrot

Kim Perrot

Kim Perrot , was an American basketball player. She played in the WNBA for the Houston Comets.Perrot attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana , and played four years there as a guard...

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

Western Conference (WNBA)

The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association is made up of six teams.The Western Conference playoffs is divided into two playoff rounds, The Conference Semi-Finals and The Conference Finals with the winner of the Conference Championship facing the Eastern Conference...

, can win the title with a victory at Houston on Saturday. Phoenix handed Houston its fourth loss all season (another also from Phoenix in the regular season).

League MVP Cynthia Cooper

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

All-WNBA Team

The All-WNBA Team is an annual Women's National Basketball Association honor bestowed on the best players in the league following every WNBA season. The voting is conducted by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States. The team has been selected in every season of the...

choices Sheryl Swoopes

Sheryl Swoopes

Sheryl Denise Swoopes is an American professional basketball player who, subsequent to being waived into free agency, signed to re-join the WNBA to play with the Tulsa Shock in 2011. She was the first player to be signed in the WNBA when it was created. She has won three Olympic Gold Medals and...

and Tina Thompson

Tina Thompson

Tina Marie Thompson is a professional basketball player in the WNBA for the Los Angeles Sparks. The first draft pick in WNBA history, Thompson was selected first by the Houston Comets. She helped lead the Comets to four WNBA Championships...

-- managed to hit just 10-of-41 shots.

Game 2

Cynthia Cooper

scored 19 of her 27 points after halftime as the defending champion Houston Comets

Houston Comets

forced a decisive third game in the WNBA Finals

WNBA Finals

with a 74-69 overtime victory over the Phoenix Mercury

Phoenix Mercury

. Sheryl Swoopes

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

Michele Timms

Michele Margaret Timms is a retired Australian professional basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association...

scored 21 points before fouling out in the final minute and reserve Kristi Harrower

Kristi Harrower

Kristi Harrower is an Australian professional basketball player, who three times won the silver medal with the Australian Women's Team at the Summer Olympics. She played in the Women's National Basketball Association from 1998 - 2005 for the Phoenix Mercury and Minnesota Lynx...

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

Jennifer Gillom

Jennifer "Grandmama" Gillom is a former WNBA basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury from 1997 to 2002...

, 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

The Houston Comets

Houston Comets

claimed their second straight WNBA championship, pulling away from the pesky Phoenix Mercury

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

Cynthia Cooper

scored 23 points and Tina Thompson

Tina Thompson

added 18. Sheryl Swoopes

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

Jennifer Gillom

Jennifer "Grandmama" Gillom is a former WNBA basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury from 1997 to 2002...

had her best game of the series, netting 20. But Phoenix got nothing from Michele Timms

Michele Timms

Michele Margaret Timms is a retired Australian professional basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association...

, who finished with only two points—19 fewer than she had in Game 2.

The Comets have now won the only two WNBA championships.

Awards

1998 WNBA Champion: Houston Comets
Houston Comets
The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...
Finals MVP: Cynthia Cooper
Cynthia Cooper
Cynthia Lynne Cooper is a former American basketball player who has won championships in college, the Olympics, and in the Women's National Basketball Association . She is considered by many as one of the greatest women's basketball players ever. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the...

Rosters

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! colspan="2" style="background-color: #B22222; color: #D3D3D3; text-align: center;" | 1998 Houston Comets Finals roster
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! colspan="2" style="background-color: #4B0082; color: #FFFF00; text-align: center;" | 1998 Phoenix Mercury Finals roster
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External links

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