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1996 - 97 WNBA Season Review

MLB

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Olympic Tower, 645 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Phone Number: 212-407-8000
Website: www.wnba.com


The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a women's professional basketball league located in the United States. Starting play in 1997 it currently consists of 12 teams, all located in the United States, The league plays a 34 game schedule from May to August with the finals occurring in October. The WNBA playoffs currently begin in late September, with four teams in each conference qualifying for the playoffs.

Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) Information
Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) Directory
Womens National Basetball Association (WNBA) Awards
Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) Records
Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) by Year
Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) All Star Game
Womens National Basketball Association (WNBA) Draft by Year
Basketball Hall of Fame

1996 - 97 WNBA Regular Season Standings

Eastern Conference
Wins Loses Win % GB PF PA
Houston Comets 18 10 0.643 -71.8 65.5
New York Liberty 17 11 0.607 168.3 65.9
Charlotte Sting 15 13 0.536 367.3 66.0
Cleveland Rockers 15 13 0.536 370.2 68.4



Western Conference
Wins Loses Win % GB PF PA
Phoenix Mercury 16 12 0.571 -69.2 65.2
Los Angeles Sparks 14 14 0.500 274.0 71.8
Sacramento Monarchs 10 18 0.357 667.9 75.4
Utah Starzz 7 21 0.250 964.6 75.1

1996 - 97 WNBA Playoffs

Finals
Houston Comets over New York Liberty (1-0)
Sat, August 30 - New York Liberty 51 @ Houston Comets 65

Semifinals
Houston Comets over Charlotte Sting (1-0)
Thu, August 28 - Charlotte Sting 54 @ Houston Comets 70

Semifinals
New York Liberty over Phoenix Mercury (1-0)
Thu, August 28 - New York Liberty 59 @ Phoenix Mercury 41

WNBA - 1996 - 97 Awards

Player Team Award
Haixia Zheng Los Angeles Sparks Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award
Cynthia Cooper Houston Comets Most Valuable Player (Season)
Cynthia Cooper Houston Comets Finals Most Valuable Player
Teresa Weatherspoon New York Liberty Defensive Player of the Year
Van Chancellor Houston Comets Coach of the Year
Ruthie Bolton Sacramento Monarchs All Star Team
Cynthia Cooper Houston Comets All Star Team
Lisa Leslie Los Angeles Sparks All Star Team
Eva Nemcova Cleveland Rockers All Star Team
Tina Thompson Houston Comets All Star Team
Jennifer Gillom Phoenix Mercury All Star Team
Rebecca Lobo New York Liberty All Star Team
Wendy Palmer Utah Starzz All Star Team
Andrea Stinson Charlotte Sting All Star Team
Teresa Weatherspoon New York Liberty All Star Team

WNBA - 1996 - 97 All Star Game Individual Statistics

Player Conference Team Minutes Points Rebounds Assists

WNBA - 1996 - 97 Leading Scorer

Player Season Team Points
Cynthia Cooper 1996-1997 Houston Comets 621
Ruthie Bolton 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 447
Lisa Leslie 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 445
Wendy Palmer 1996-1997 Utah Starzz 443
Jennifer Gillom 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 440
Andrea Stinson 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 439
Sophia Witherspoon 1996-1997 New York Liberty 407
Eva Nemcova 1996-1997 Cleveland Rockers 384
Tina Thompson 1996-1997 Houston Comets 370
Penny Toler 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 368
Bridgette Gordon 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 365

WNBA - 1996 - 97 Assist Leader

Player Season Team Assists
Teresa Weatherspoon 1996-1997 New York Liberty 173
Penny Toler 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 143
Michele Timms 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 135
Chantel Tremitiere 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 135
Cynthia Cooper 1996-1997 Houston Comets 131
Andrea Stinson 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 124
Jamila Wideman 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 103
Michelle Edwards 1996-1997 Cleveland Rockers 89
Kim Perrot 1996-1997 Houston Comets 88
Tammi Reiss 1996-1997 Utah Starzz 87
Bridgette Gordon 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 78

1996 - 97 Fouls Leader

Player Season Team Fouls
Isabelle Fijalkowski 1996-1997 Cleveland Rockers 129
Pamela McGee 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 113
Tina Thompson 1996-1997 Houston Comets 107
Rhonda Mapp 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 104
Lisa Leslie 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 99
Latasha Byears 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 98
Michele Timms 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 95
Jennifer Gillom 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 93
Umeki Webb 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 92
Wendy Palmer 1996-1997 Utah Starzz 86
Tammy Jackson 1996-1997 Houston Comets 84

1996 - 97 Field Goal Percentage (>200 Attempts)

Player Season Team Attempt Made Percentage
Isabelle Fijalkowski 1996-1997 Cleveland Rockers 246 125 0.508
Rhonda Mapp 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 244 120 0.492
Kym Hampton 1996-1997 New York Liberty 211 100 0.474
Eva Nemcova 1996-1997 Cleveland Rockers 292 138 0.473
Cynthia Cooper 1996-1997 Houston Comets 406 191 0.470
Toni Foster 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 201 94 0.468
Latasha Byears 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 209 96 0.459
Pamela McGee 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 222 102 0.459
Tamecka Dixon 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 252 115 0.456
Vicky Bullett 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 324 145 0.448
Andrea Stinson 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 396 177 0.447

1996 - 97 Three Point Field Goals Made (> 50 Attempts)

Player Season Team Attempt Made Percentage
Cynthia Cooper 1996-1997 Houston Comets 162 67 0.414
Ruthie Bolton 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 192 66 0.344
Michele Timms 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 142 49 0.345
Sophia Witherspoon 1996-1997 New York Liberty 126 44 0.349
Bridget Pettis 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 134 41 0.306
Elena Baranova 1996-1997 Utah Starzz 106 40 0.377
Eva Nemcova 1996-1997 Cleveland Rockers 85 37 0.435
Tina Thompson 1996-1997 Houston Comets 100 37 0.370
Tammi Reiss 1996-1997 Utah Starzz 101 30 0.297
Kim Perrot 1996-1997 Houston Comets 99 28 0.283
Andrea Stinson 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 77 25 0.325

1996 - 97 Offensive Rebounds

Player Season Team Off Reb
Latasha Byears 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 87
Wanda Guyton 1996-1997 Houston Comets 76
Wendy Palmer 1996-1997 Utah Starzz 76
Tina Thompson 1996-1997 Houston Comets 67
Bridgette Gordon 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 67
Marlies Askamp 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 66
Vicky Bullett 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 66
Toni Foster 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 64
Lisa Leslie 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 63
Isabelle Fijalkowski 1996-1997 Cleveland Rockers 62
Rebecca Lobo 1996-1997 New York Liberty 62

1996 - 97 Defensive Rebounds

Player Season Team Rebounds
Lisa Leslie 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 203
Janice Braxton 1996-1997 Cleveland Rockers 151
Elena Baranova 1996-1997 Utah Starzz 151
Wendy Palmer 1996-1997 Utah Starzz 149
Rebecca Lobo 1996-1997 New York Liberty 141
Tina Thompson 1996-1997 Houston Comets 117
Vicky Bullett 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 112
Kym Hampton 1996-1997 New York Liberty 111
Andrea Stinson 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 107
Latasha Byears 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 106
Jennifer Gillom 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 106

WNBA - 1996 - 97 Total Rebounds

Player Season Team Rebounds
Lisa Leslie 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 266
Wendy Palmer 1996-1997 Utah Starzz 225
Elena Baranova 1996-1997 Utah Starzz 206
Rebecca Lobo 1996-1997 New York Liberty 203
Latasha Byears 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 193
Janice Braxton 1996-1997 Cleveland Rockers 189
Tina Thompson 1996-1997 Houston Comets 184
Vicky Bullett 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 178
Toni Foster 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 170
Kym Hampton 1996-1997 New York Liberty 163
Isabelle Fijalkowski 1996-1997 Cleveland Rockers 157

WNBA - 1996 - 97 Steals Leader

Player Season Team Steals
Teresa Weatherspoon 1996-1997 New York Liberty 85
Michele Timms 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 71
Kim Perrot 1996-1997 Houston Comets 69
Umeki Webb 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 68
Cynthia Cooper 1996-1997 Houston Comets 59
Chantel Tremitiere 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 54
Vicky Bullett 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 54
Ruthie Bolton 1996-1997 Sacramento Monarchs 54
Toni Foster 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 53
Bridget Pettis 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 49
Tamecka Dixon 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 49

WNBA - 1996 - 97 Blocks Leader

Player Season Team Blocks
Elena Baranova 1996-1997 Utah Starzz 63
Lisa Leslie 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 59
Vicky Bullett 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 55
Rebecca Lobo 1996-1997 New York Liberty 51
Tina Thompson 1996-1997 Houston Comets 28
Janice Braxton 1996-1997 Cleveland Rockers 28
Toni Foster 1996-1997 Phoenix Mercury 21
Andrea Stinson 1996-1997 Charlotte Sting 21
Haixia Zheng 1996-1997 Los Angeles Sparks 20
Kym Hampton 1996-1997 New York Liberty 19
Sue Wicks 1996-1997 New York Liberty 18