2000 WNBA Championship
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| 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 | |||||||||
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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 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:
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May 29
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Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 21, 2000)
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| New York Liberty 68, Houston Comets 84 |
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July 23
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Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 22, 2000)
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| Houston Comets 64, New York Liberty 69 |
Game summaries
All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.
Game 1
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August 24
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Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 23, 2000)
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| Houston Comets 59, New York Liberty 52 | ||
| 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) |
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Madison Square Garden, New York
Attendance: 19,563 Referees:
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Game 2
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August 26
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Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 23, 2000)
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| 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) |
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Awards
- 2000 WNBA Champion: Houston Comets
- Finals MVP: Cynthia Cooper
Rosters
| 2000 Houston Comets Finals roster | |
|---|---|
| Players | Coaches |
| Pos. | # | Nat. | Name | Height | Weight | From | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | 4 |  |
Arcain, Janeth | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 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 |
|} | style="vertical-align:top;" |
- 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 (1.70 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) | University of Central Florida | |
| 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 |
|} | style="vertical-align:top;" |
- Head coach
- Assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (FA) Free agent
- (IN) Inactive
- (S) Suspended
- Injured
|}
