2000 WNBA Championship

2000 WNBA Finals
Team Coach Wins
Houston Comets Van Chancellor 2
New York Liberty Richie Adubato 0
Dates: August 24-August 26
MVP: Cynthia Cooper (Houston Comets)
Television: NBC
Referees:
  Game 1: Bell, DeMayo, Zielinski
  Game 2: Corteau, Kirkland, Price
East Finals: New York defeated Cleveland, 2–1
West Finals: Houston defeated Los Angeles, 2–0
WNBA Finals

← 1999

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 expect the Houston Comets had ever won a WNBA championship (1997-1999).

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.

Contents

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 New York Liberty 68, Houston Comets 84    Compaq Center, Houston
July 23 Recap Houston Comets 64, New York Liberty 69    Madison Square Garden, New York

Game summaries

All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.

Game 1

August 24 Recap Houston Comets 59, New York Liberty 52    Madison Square Garden, New York
Attendance: 19,563
Referees:
  • Sally Bell
  • Dennis DeMayo
  • Gary Zielinski
 ESPN
Scoring by half: 29-22, 30-30
Pts: Cooper (20)
Rebs: Swoopes, Thompson (8)
Asts: Cooper (5)		 Pts: Phillips (24)
Rebs: Phillips (15)
Asts: Weatherspoon (5)

Game 2

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

Awards

Rosters

2000 Houston Comets Finals roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight From
F 4 Arcain, Janeth 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 147 lb (67 kg) Brazil
G 14 Cooper, Cynthia 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Southern California
F 23 Jackson, Tammy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Florida
C Johnson, Tiffani 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Tennessee
G 3 Kelley-Gibson, Jawann 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 137 lb (62 kg) Maryland
C 40 Lamb, Monica 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Southern California
G 21 Rizzotti, Jennifer 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 146 lb (66 kg) Connecticut
F 22 Swoopes, Sheryl 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 145 lb (66 kg) Texas Tech
F 7 Thompson, Tina 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Southern California
F 13 Valdemoro, Amaya 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Spain
G 4 Washington, Coquese 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 138 lb (63 kg) Notre Dame
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Kevin Cook
  • Alisa Scott
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured
2000 New York Liberty Finals roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight From
G 22 Bibby, Jessica 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) 139 lb (63 kg) Australia
F 13 Farragut, Marina 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Spain
C Firsova, Olga 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Kansas State
F 42 Francis, Desiree 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Iowa State
G 25 Hammon, Becky 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 136 lb (62 kg) Colorado State
G 55 Johnson, Vickie 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Louisiana Tech
C 50 Lobo, Rebecca  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Connecticut
F 24 Phillips, Tari 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Central Florida University
F 3 Robinson, Crystal 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Southeastern Oklahoma State University
G 11 Weatherspoon, Teresa 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 161 lb (73 kg) Louisiana Tech
F 44 Whitmore, Tamika 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Memphis
F 23 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

External links

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