1999 WNBA Championship
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| Dates: | September 2-September 5 | |||||||||
| MVP: | Cynthia Cooper (Houston Comets) | |||||||||
| Television: | ESPN (Game 1) NBC (Games 2 and 3) | |||||||||
| Announcers: | Mike Breen and Ann Meyers (ESPN and NBC) | |||||||||
| Referees: | ||||||||||
| Game 1: Bell, Collins, Zielinski | ||||||||||
| Game 2: Corteau, Kirkland, Phillips | ||||||||||
| Game 3: Bell, Gaxiola, Price | ||||||||||
| East Finals: | New York defeated Charlotte, 2–1 | |||||||||
| West Finals: | Houston defeated Los Angeles, 2–0 | |||||||||
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The 1999 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 1999 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the New York Liberty, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, two games to one in a best-of-three series. This was Houston's third title.
The Comets made their third appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Liberty made their second Finals appearance.
Going into the series, no other team except the Houston Comets had ever won a WNBA championship (1997 and 1998).
The Comets had a 26-6 record (.813), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Liberty (18-14).
Road to the finals
| Houston Comets | New York Liberty | |
|---|---|---|
| 26–6 (.813) 1st West, 1st overall |
Regular season | 28–14 (.563) 1st East, 4th overall |
| Received a bye | Conference Semifinals | Received a bye |
| Defeated the (2) Los Angeles Sparks, 2–1 | Conference Finals | Defeated the (3) Charlotte Sting, 2–1 |
Regular season series
The Comets and the Liberty split the regular season series:
Game summaries
All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time.
Game 1
September 2 |
| Houston Comets 73, New York Liberty 60 | ||
| Scoring by half: 29-20, 44-40 | ||
| Pts: Cooper (29) Rebs: Thompson (7) Asts: Cooper (6) |
Pts: Witherspoon (18) Rebs: Wicks (11) Asts: Weatherspoon (10) | |
Game 2
September 4 |
| New York Liberty 68, Houston Comets 67 | ||
| Scoring by half: 23-37, 45-30 | ||
| Pts: Robinson (20) Rebs: Hampton (9) Asts: Weatherspoon (5) |
Pts: Thompson (16) Rebs: Swoopes, Tzekova (6) Asts: Cooper (6) | |
With Houston leading 67-65 over New York and the Liberty out of timeouts with only 2.4 seconds remaining on the clock after Tina Thompson's jumper, New York would have to go the length of the court if they had any hope of winning. Kym Hampton inbounded the ball to Teresa Weatherspoon who took a couple dribbles and let the ball fly 50 feet away from the basket. To the awe and ire of the Houston fans, the ball smacked off the backboard and banked into the basket and the Liberty won the game 68-67. The lasting image of this moment is Weatherspoon falling over on the ground smiling as her teammates mob her from the bench.
Game 3
September 5 |
| New York Liberty 47, Houston Comets 59 | ||
| Scoring by half: 25-33, 22-26 | ||
| Pts: Wicks (11) Rebs: Wicks (9) Asts: Robinson (3) |
Pts: Cooper (24) Rebs: Jackson (11) Asts: Henning (2) | |
Series Quotes
Liberty out of timeouts. They've got to go the length of the floor. Weatherspoon at the buzzer a three...OHHHHHHHHHH! She put it in! She put it in! And the Liberty win game two! What a finish! Unbelievable here at the Compaq Center! One of the most amazing finishes in the WNBA! And there will be a game three tomorrow afternoon. This crowd is absolutely stunned.— Mike Breen, calling Weatherspoon's game winning shot in Game 2.
Awards
- 1999 WNBA Champion: Houston Comets
- Finals MVP: Cynthia Cooper
Rosters
| 1999 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 | |
| G | 34 | |
Henning, Sonja | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | 143 lb (65 kg) | Stanford | |
| F | 23 | |
Jackson, Tammy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Florida | |
| C | 40 | |
Lamb, Monica (IN) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 206 lb (93 kg) | Southern California | |
| F | 24 |  |
Nikolich, Mila | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 183 lb (83 kg) | Israel | |
| 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 | |
| C | 15 |  |
Tzekova, Polina | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 189 lb (86 kg) | Bulgaria | |
| F | 13 |  |
Valdemoro, Amaya | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Spain | |
| C | 52 | |
Wolters, Kara | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 227 lb (103 kg) | Connecticut | |
|} |
- Head coach
- Assistant coaches
- Unknown
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (FA) Free agent
- (IN) Inactive
- (S) Suspended
Injured
|}
| 1999 New York Liberty Finals roster | |
|---|---|
| Players | Coaches |
| Pos. | # | Nat. | Name | Height | Weight | From | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | 25 | |
Hammon, Becky | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | 136 lb (62 kg) | Colorado State | |
| C | 34 | |
Hampton, Kym | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Arizona State | |
| G | 55 | |
Johnson, Vickie | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 150 lb (68 kg) | Louisiana Tech | |
| G | 12 | |
Jones-Young, Carolyn (IN) | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Auburn | |
| C | 5 | |
Lacy, Venus | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 234 lb (106 kg) | Louisiana Tech | |
| C | 50 | |
Lobo, Rebecca |
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Connecticut | |
| F | 3 | |
Robinson, Crystal | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Southeastern Oklahoma State University | |
| C | 31 | |
VanGorp, Michele | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 187 lb (85 kg) | Duke | |
| G | 4 | |
Washington, Coquese | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | 138 lb (63 kg) | Notre Dame | |
| 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 | |
| G | 13 | |
Witherspoon, Sophia | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 145 lb (66 kg) | Florida | |
|} |
- Head coach
- Assistant coaches
- Unknown
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (FA) Free agent
- (IN) Inactive
- (S) Suspended
- Injured
|}