2000 WNBA Championship

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.

2000 WNBA Finals
TeamCoachWins
Houston Comets Van Chancellor 2
New York Liberty Richie Adubato 0
DatesAugust 24-August 26
MVPCynthia Cooper (Houston Comets)
Eastern FinalsNew York defeated Cleveland, 2–1
Western FinalsHouston defeated Los Angeles, 2–0

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 (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.

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
Compaq Center, Houston
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
Lifetime
August 24
Recap at the Wayback Machine (archived October 23, 2000)
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)
Madison Square Garden, New York
Attendance: 19,563
Referees:
  • Sally Bell
  • Dennis DeMayo
  • Gary Zielinski

Game 2
NBC
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

Awards

Rosters
2000 Houston Comets Finals roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightFrom
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
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
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#Nat.NameHeightWeightFrom
G 22 Bibby, Jessica 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) 139 lb (63 kg) Australia
F 13 Ferragut, 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
Head coach
Assistant coaches



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