2000 WNBA Championship

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

2000 WNBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Houston Comets Van Chancellor 2
New York Liberty Richie Adubato 0
DatesAugust 24-26
MVPCynthia Cooper (Houston Comets)
Hall of FamersComets:
Cynthia Cooper (2010)
Sheryl Swoopes (2016)
Tina Thompson (2018)
Liberty:
Becky Hammon (2023)
Rebecca Lobo (2017; did not play)
Teresa Weatherspoon (2019)
Coaches:
Van Chancellor (2007)
Eastern FinalsNew York defeated Cleveland, 2–1
Western FinalsHouston defeated Los Angeles, 2–0
← 1999 WNBA Finals 2001 →

The 2000 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 2000 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, second-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the New York Liberty, first-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Houston's fourth title.

The Comets made their fourth appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Liberty also made their third Finals appearance.

Going into the series, no other team except the Houston Comets had won a WNBA championship (19971999).

The Comets had a 27–5 record (.844), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Liberty (20–12). It did not matter, however, as the Comets swept the Liberty.

Road to the finals

Houston Comets New York Liberty
27–5 (.844)
2nd West, 2nd overall
Regular season 20–12 (.562)
1st East, 4th overall
Defeated the (3) Sacramento Monarchs, 2–0 Conference Semifinals Defeated the (4) Washington Mystics, 2–0
Defeated the (1) Los Angeles Sparks, 2–0 Conference Finals Defeated the (2) Cleveland Rockers, 2–1


Regular season series

The Comets and the Liberty split the regular season series:

May 29
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 21, 2000)
New York Liberty 68, Houston Comets 84
July 23
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 22, 2000)
Houston Comets 64, New York Liberty 69

Game summaries

All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.

Game 1

August 24
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 23, 2000)
Houston Comets 59, New York Liberty 52
Scoring by half: 29–22, 30–39
Pts: Cooper (20)
Rebs: Swoopes, Thompson (8)
Asts: Cooper (5)
Pts: Phillips (24)
Rebs: Phillips (15)
Asts: Weatherspoon (5)
Madison Square Garden, New York
Attendance: 19,563
Referees:
  • Sally Bell
  • Dennis DeMayo
  • Gary Zielinski

Game 2

August 26
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 23, 2000)
New York Liberty 73, Houston Comets 79 (OT)
Scoring by half: 25–27, 39–37 Overtime: 9–15
Pts: Phillips (20)
Rebs: Phillips (7)
Asts: Weatherspoon (8)
Pts: Swoopes (31)
Rebs: Thompson (8)
Asts: Cooper (7)
Compaq Center, Houston
Attendance: 16,285
Referees:
  • June Corteau
  • Courtney Kirkland
  • Michael Price

Rosters

2000 Houston Comets Finals roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight From
F 4 Brazil Arcain, Janeth 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 147 lb (67 kg) Brazil
G 14 United States Cooper, Cynthia 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 150 lb (68 kg) USC
F 23 United States Jackson, Tammy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Florida
C 00 United States Johnson, Tiffani 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Tennessee
G 3 United States Kelley-Gibson, Jawann 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 137 lb (62 kg) Maryland
C 40 United States Lamb, Monica 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 206 lb (93 kg) USC
G 21 United States Rizzotti, Jennifer 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 146 lb (66 kg) Connecticut
F 22 United States Swoopes, Sheryl 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 145 lb (66 kg) Texas Tech
F 7 United States Thompson, Tina 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 178 lb (81 kg) USC
F 13 Spain Valdemoro, Amaya 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Spain
G 4 United States Washington, Coquese 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 138 lb (63 kg) Notre Dame
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • United States Kevin Cook
  • United States Alisa Scott




Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured
2000 New York Liberty Finals roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight From
G 22 Australia Bibby, Jessica 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 139 lb (63 kg) Australia
F 13 Spain Ferragut, Marina 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Spain
C Ukraine Firsova, Olga 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Kansas State
F 42 United States Francis, Desiree 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Iowa State
G 25 United States Hammon, Becky 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 136 lb (62 kg) Colorado State
G 55 United States Johnson, Vickie 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Louisiana Tech
C 50 United States Lobo, Rebecca Injured 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Connecticut
F 24 United States Phillips, Tari 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) University of Central Florida
F 3 United States Robinson, Crystal 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Southeastern Oklahoma State University
G 11 United States Weatherspoon, Teresa 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 161 lb (73 kg) Louisiana Tech
F 44 United States Whitmore, Tamika 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Memphis
F 23 United States Wicks, Sue 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Rutgers
Head coach
Assistant coaches




Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

External links