2000 WNBA playoffs

2000 WNBA Playoffs
DatesAugust 11–26, 2000
Final positions
ChampionsHouston Comets (Finals Champion)
East championNew York Liberty (Coach: Richie Adubato)
West championHouston Comets (Coach: Van Chancellor)
← 1999
2001 →

The 2000 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason for the Women's National Basketball Association's 2000 season which ended with the Western Conference champion Houston Comets beating the Eastern Conference champion New York Liberty, 2-0. Cynthia Cooper was named the MVP of the Finals.

Regular season standings

Eastern Conference

Eastern Conference W L PCT Conf. GB
New York Liberty x 20 12 .625 14–7 –
Cleveland Rockers x 17 15 .531 13–8 3.0
Orlando Miracle x 16 16 .500 13–8 4.0
Washington Mystics x 14 18 .438 13–8 6.0
Detroit Shock o 14 18 .438 10–11 6.0
Miami Sol o 13 19 .406 9–12 7.0
Indiana Fever o 9 23 .281 7–14 11.0
Charlotte Sting o 8 24 .250 5–16 12.0

Western Conference

Western Conference W L PCT Conf. GB
Los Angeles Sparks x 28 4 .875 17–4 –
Houston Comets x 27 5 .844 17–4 1.0
Sacramento Monarchs x 21 11 .656 13–8 7.0
Phoenix Mercury x 20 12 .625 11–10 8.0
Utah Starzz o 18 14 .563 13–8 10.0
Minnesota Lynx o 15 17 .469 5–16 13.0
Portland Fire o 10 22 .313 4–17 18.0
Seattle Storm o 6 26 .188 4–17 22.0

Note: Teams with an "X" clinched playoff spots.

Playoffs

Bracket

There were 16 teams in the league. For the playoffs, the four teams with the best record in each conference were seeded one to four.

Conference Semi-Finals
Best-of-3 		Conference Finals
Best-of-3 		WNBA Finals
Best-of-3
         
E1 New York 2
E4 Washington 0
E1 New York 2
Eastern Conference
E2 Cleveland 1
E2 Cleveland 2
E3 Orlando 1
E1 New York 0
W2 Houston 2
W1 Los Angeles 2
W4 Phoenix 0
W1 Los Angeles 0
Western Conference
W2 Houston 2
W2 Houston 2
W3 Sacramento 0
  • Bold – Series winner
  • Italics – Team with home-court advantage

Conference Semi=Finals

Cleveland Rockers vs. Orlando Miracle

August 11
Cleveland Rockers 55, Orlando Miracle 62
Scoring by half: 29–28, 26–34
Pts: Merlakia Jones 18
Rebs: Brown, Jones 6 each
Asts: Rushia Brown 4		 Pts: Taj McWilliams 16
Rebs: Taj McWilliams 10
Asts: Shannon Johnson 5
Orlando leads series, 1–0
TD Waterhouse Centre, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 6,265
Referees: Sally Bell, Michael Henderson, Barb Smith
August 13
Orlando Miracle 54, Cleveland Rockers 63
Scoring by half: 15–36, 39–27
Pts: Adrienne Johnson 17
Rebs: Shannon Johnson 9
Asts: Shannon Johnson 7		 Pts: Jones, Darling 15 each
Rebs: Chasity Melvin 10
Asts: Suzie McConnell-Serio 6
Series tied, 1–1
Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 9,755
Referees: Patty Broderick, Patrick Fraher, Gary Zielinski
August 15
Orlando Miracle 43, Cleveland Rockers 72
Scoring by half: 21–32, 22–40
Pts: Nykesha Sales 13
Rebs: Taj McWilliams 8
Asts: Dos Santos, McWilliams, S. Johnson, A. Johnson 2 each		 Pts: Ann Wauters 12
Rebs: Merlakia Jones 7
Asts: Suzie McConnell-Serio 7
Cleveland wins series, 2–1
Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 9,528
Referees: June Courteau, Bob Trammell, Dennis DeMayo

New York Liberty vs. Washington Mystics

August 12
New York Liberty 72, Washington Mystics 63
Scoring by half: 40–28, 32–35
Pts: Johnson, Phillips 20 each
Rebs: Vickie Johnson 8
Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 9		 Pts: Vicky Bullett 22
Rebs: Holdsclaw, Bullett 8 each
Asts: Nikki McCray 11
New York leads series, 1–0
MCI Center, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 16,331
Referees: Melissa Barlow, Lisa Mattingly, Bob Trammell
August 14
Washington Mystics 57, New York Liberty 78
Scoring by half: 25–40, 32–38
Pts: Holdsclaw, Aldridge 12 each
Rebs: Markita Aldridge 4
Asts: Markita Aldridge 5		 Pts: Becky Hammon 19
Rebs: Tari Phillips 10
Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 10
New York wins series, 2–0
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 15,309
Referees: Dennis DeMayo, Courtney Kirkland, Mark Ayotte

Los Angeles Sparks vs. Phoenix Mercury

August 11
Los Angeles Sparks 86, Phoenix Mercury 71
Scoring by half: 43–24, 43–47
Pts: Lisa Leslie 20
Rebs: Lisa Leslie 11
Asts: Tamecka Dixon 5		 Pts: Brandy Reed 17
Rebs: Lisa Harrison 9
Asts: Brandy Reed 6
Los Angeles leads series, 1–0
America West Arena, Phoenix, Arizona
Attendance: 6,167
Referees: Jason Phillips, Bill Stokes, Bonita Spence
August 13
Phoenix Mercury 76, Los Angeles Sparks 101
Scoring by half: 36–42, 40–59
Pts: Harrison, Gillom 16 each
Rebs: Michelle Griffiths 6
Asts: Lisa Harrison 5		 Pts: Lisa Leslie 29
Rebs: Leslie, Mabika 8 each
Asts: Tamecka Dixon 7
Los Angeles wins series, 2–0
Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 9,811
Referees: Michael Price, Teresa Dahlem, Roy Gulbeyan

Houston Comets vs. Sacramento Monarchs

August 12
Houston Comets 72, Sacramento Monarchs 64
Scoring by half: 35–37, 37–27
Pts: Cynthia Cooper 25
Rebs: Tiffani Johnson 8
Asts: Thompson, Cooper 3 each		 Pts: Ruthie Bolton-Holifield 16
Rebs: Yolanda Griffith 14
Asts: Kedra Holland-Corn 5
Houston leads series, 1–0
Arco Arena, Sacramento, California
Attendance: 8,053
Referees: Matthew Boland, June Courteau, Lamont Simpson
August 14
Sacramento Monarchs 70, Houston Comets 75
Scoring by half: 37–38, 33–37
Pts: Ruthie Bolton-Holifield 23
Rebs: Yolanda Griffith 10
Asts: Ticha Penicheiro 10		 Pts: Sheryl Swoopes 27
Rebs: Tina Thompson 14
Asts: Sheryl Swoopes 6
Houston wins series, 2–0
Compaq Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 11,664
Referees: Sally Bell, Derek Collins, Barb Smith

Conference Finals

New York Liberty vs. Cleveland Rockers

August 17
New York Liberty 43, Cleveland Rockers 56
Scoring by half: 21–29, 22–27
Pts: Tari Phillips 11
Rebs: Tari Phillips 6
Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 3		 Pts: Rushia Brown 18
Rebs: Chasity Melvin 9
Asts: Suzie McConnell-Serio 5
Cleveland leads series, 1–0
Gund Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 11,686
Referees: Lisa Mattingly, Derek Collins, Michael Price
August 20
Cleveland Rockers 45, New York Liberty 51
Scoring by half: 17–36, 28–15
Pts: Merlakia Jones 18
Rebs: Merlakia Jones 12
Asts: Helen Darling 3		 Pts: Becky Hammon 13
Rebs: Tari Phillips 6
Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 9
Series tied, 1–1
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 15,865
Referees: Sally Bell, Courtney Kirkland, Gary Zielinski
August 21
Cleveland Rockers 67, New York Liberty 81
Scoring by half: 27–46, 40–35
Pts: Jones, McConnell-Serio 13 each
Rebs: Chasity Melvin 9
Asts: Helen Darling 4		 Pts: Tamika Whitmore 19
Rebs: Sue Wicks 6
Asts: Vickie Johnson 10
New York wins series, 2–1
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 15,173
Referees: Patty Broderick, Bill Stokes, Jason Phillips

Los Angeles Sparks vs. Houston Comets

August 17
Los Angeles Sparks 56, Houston Comets 77
Scoring by half: 23–40, 33–37
Pts: Mwadi Mabika 21
Rebs: Lisa Leslie 8
Asts: Milton, Figgs 4 each		 Pts: Sheryl Swoopes 22
Rebs: Arcain, Swoopes 6 each
Asts: Thompson, Arcain 3 each
Houston leads series, 1–0
Compaq Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 14,597
Referees: Patty Broderick, Melissa Barlow, Jason Phillips
August 20
Houston Comets 74, Los Angeles Sparks 69
Scoring by half: 40–35, 34–34
Pts: Cynthia Cooper 29
Rebs: Tina Thompson 6
Asts: Sheryl Swoopes 6		 Pts: Mwadi Mabika 19
Rebs: Lisa Leslie 14
Asts: Leslie, Figgs 5 each
Houston wins series, 2–0
Great Western Forum, Inglewood, California
Attendance: 13,884
Referees: Dennis DeMayo, Teresa Dahlem, Patrick Fraher

WNBA Championship

Main article: 2000 WNBA Championship
August 24
Houston Comets 59, New York Liberty 52
Scoring by half: 29–22, 30–30
Pts: Cynthia Cooper 20
Rebs: Swoopes, Thompson 8 each
Asts: Cynthia Cooper 5		 Pts: Tari Phillips 24
Rebs: Tari Phillips 15
Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 5
Houston leads series, 1–0
Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Attendance: 19,563
Referees: Gary Zielinski, Sally Bell, Dennis DeMayo
August 26
New York Liberty 73, Houston Comets 79 (OT)
Scoring by half: 25–27, 39–37 Overtime: 9–15
Pts: Tari Phillips 20
Rebs: Tari Phillips 7
Asts: Teresa Weatherspoon 8		 Pts: Sheryl Swoopes 31
Rebs: Tina Thompson 8
Asts: Cynthia Cooper 7
Houston wins series, 2–0
Compaq Center, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 16,285
Referees: June Courteau, Michael Price, Courtney Kirkland

[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ WNBA.com WNBA Playoffs History: 2000