1997 Houston Comets season
Coach	Van Chancellor
Arena	Compaq Center
Attendance	9,703 per game
Results
Record	18–10 (.643)
Place	1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Won WNBA Finals
1998 season →

The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the Houston Comets. The Comets won the inaugural WNBA Finals.

Offseason

Initial player allocation

Pick	Player	Nationality	WNBA Team	College/HS/Club Team
5	Sheryl Swoopes (F)	United States	Houston Comets	Texas Tech
6	Cynthia Cooper (G)	United States	Houston Comets	Southern California

WNBA draft

Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	Tina Thompson	United States	Southern California

Regular season

Season standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	Conf.	GB
Houston Comets ^x	18	10	.643	6–6	–
New York Liberty ^x	17	11	.607	8–4	1.0
Charlotte Sting ^x	15	13	.536	5–7	3.0
Cleveland Rockers ^o	15	13	.536	5–7	3.0

Season Schedule

1997 Game Log

June

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location	Record
1	June 21	@ Cleveland	W 76-56	Cooper (25)	Cooper (8)	Cooper (5)	Gund Arena	1-0
2	June 24	Phoenix	W 70-55	Arcain (23)	Arcain (8)	Cooper (3)	The Summit	2-0
3	June 26	New York	L 60-62 (OT)	Cooper (20)	Guyton (9)	Cooper (3)	The Summit	2-1
4	June 28	@ Utah	W 76-58	Cooper (20)	Guyton (9)	Cooper (3)	Delta Center	3-1
5	June 30	Los Angeles	W 71-66 (OT)	Arcain (17)	Jackson (8)	Cooper (5)	The Summit	4-1

July

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location	Record
6	July 2	@ New York	L 67-70	Cooper (19)	Guyton (8)	Cooper (6)	Madison Square Garden	4-2
7	July 4	New York	L 58-65	Thompson (15)	Arcain (7)	Cooper (8)	The Summit	4-3
8	July 7	Charlotte	W 74-56	Cooper (21)	Thompson (9)	Cooper (6)	The Summit	5-3
9	July 9	@ Phoenix	L 64-69	Cooper (16)	Thompson (7)	Perrot (4)	America West Arena	5-4
10	July 12	Sacramento	W 81-69	Cooper (20)	Thompson (10)	Cooper (8)	The Summit	6-4
11	July 14	Utah	W 79-56	Arcain, Guyton (17)	Harris (8)	Perrot (4)	The Summit	7-4
12	July 16	@ Los Angeles	L 52-77	Thompson, Cooper (17)	Arcain (8)	Arcain, Cooper (3)	Great Western Forum	7-5
13	July 18	@ Sacramento	W 82-60	Cooper (30)	Jackson (12)	Perrot (7)	Arco Arena	8-5
14	July 22	@ Phoenix	W 77-69	Cooper (32)	Arcain (7)	Cooper (6)	America West Arena	9-5
15	July 25	@ Sacramento	W 86-76	Cooper (44)	Guyton (7)	Arcain (5)	Arco Arena	10-5
16	July 29	Cleveland	W 64-73	Thompson (24)	Thompson (9)	Cooper (5)	The Summit	10-6

August

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location	Record
17	August 1	@ Los Angeles	W 81-57	Cooper (34)	Thompson (9)	Cooper (5)	Great Western Forum	11-6
18	August 2	@ Utah	L 63-74	Thompson (20)	Jackson (6)	Cooper (5)	Delta Center	11-7
19	August 5	@ Cleveland	W 76-66	Cooper (30)	Arcain (8)	Cooper (6)	Gund Arena	12-7
20	August 7	Phoenix	W 74-70	Cooper (34)	Thompson (10)	Perrot (6)	The Summit	13-7
21	August 9	Los Angeles	W 72-71	Perrot (19)	Thompson (10)	Cooper (8)	The Summit	14-7
22	August 11	@ Charlotte	W 72-62	Cooper (39)	Jackson (7)	Perrot (7)	Charlotte Coliseum	15-7
23	August 12	Utah	W 76-56	Cooper (21)	Thompson, Guyton (7)	Perrot (5)	The Summit	16-7
24	August 16	@ Charlotte	L 71-80	Swoopes (20)	Thompson (6)	Perrot (7)	Charlotte Coliseum	16-8
25	August 17	@ New York	W 70-55	Cooper (17)	Thompson, Jackson (12)	Perrot (6)	Madison Square Garden	17-8
26	August 19	Charlotte	W 77-69	Cooper (31)	Guyton (10)	Thompson, Cooper (4)	The Summit	18-8
27	August 21	Cleveland	L 75-76	Perrot (18)	Guyton (10)	Cooper (9)	The Summit	18-9
28	August 24	Sacramento	L 58-68	Cooper (16)	Thompson (9)	Cooper (5)	The Summit	18-10

Playoffs

Game	Date	Opponent	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location
WNBA Semifinal	August 28	Charlotte	W 70-54	Cooper (31)	Thompson (12)	Cooper (5)	The Summit
WNBA Championship	August 30	New York	W 65-51	Cooper (25)	Jackson (11)	Cooper (4)	The Summit

Player stats

Janeth Arcain ranked second in the WNBA in Free Throw Pct with .894
Cynthia Cooper ranked fifth in the WNBA in assists with 131.
Cynthia Cooper ranked sixth in the WNBA in Field Goal Percentage (.470)
Cynthia Cooper ranked third in the WNBA in Free Throw Pct with .864
Cynthia Cooper ranked first in the WNBA in field goals with 191.
Cynthia Cooper ranked first in the WNBA in points with 621.
Cynthia Cooper ranked fifth in the WNBA in minutes per game with 35.1
Cynthia Cooper ranked fifth in the WNBA in steals with 59.
Kim Perrot ranked ninth in the WNBA in assists with 88.
Kim Perrot ranked third in the WNBA in steals with 69.
Tina Thompson ranked ninth in the WNBA in points with 370 points.-
Tina Thompson ranked seventh in the WNBA in total rebounds with 184
Tina Thompson ranked ninth in the WNBA in points per game with 13.2
Tina Thompson ranked seventh in the WNBA in Free Throw Pct with .838
Tina Thompson tied for fifth in the WNBA in blocks with 28.

Playoffs

Won WNBA Finals (1-0) over New York Liberty
Won WNBA Semifinals (1-0) over Charlotte Sting

Awards and honors

Cynthia Cooper, WNBA Most Valuable Player Award
Cynthia Cooper, WNBA Finals MVP Award
Cynthia Cooper, Guard, All-WNBA First Team
Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, Field Goals 191^[3]
Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, 3-Pt Field Goals, 67^[3]
Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, Free Throws, 172^[3]
Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, Free Throw Attempts, 199^[3]
Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, Points, 621 ^[3]
Cynthia Cooper: Led WNBA, Points per game, 22.2 ^[3]
Cynthia Cooper: Ranked third in the WNBA in minutes played, 982
Wanda Guyton: Second in WNBA (tied), Offensive Rebounds, 76 ^[3]
Tina Thompson, Forward, All-WNBA First Team
Van Chancellor, Coach of the Year ^[4]

References

External links

Houston Comets 1997 WNBA champions

Houston Comets 1997 WNBA champions
4 Janeth Arcain 5 Tiffany Woosley 7 Tina Thompson 9 Wanda Guyton 10 Kim Perrot 14 Cynthia Cooper (Finals MVP) 20 Fran Harris 22 Sheryl Swoopes 23 Tammy Jackson 33 Yolanda Moore Head Coach Van Chancellor

1997 WNBA season by team

1997 WNBA season by team
Draft Championship Playoffs
Eastern	Charlotte Sting Cleveland Rockers Houston Comets New York Liberty
Western	Los Angeles Sparks Phoenix Mercury Sacramento Monarchs Utah Starzz
← 1996 . WNBA season 1998 →

Categories