| 1997 Phoenix Mercury season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Cheryl Miller |
| Arena | America West Arena |
| Attendance | 13,703 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 16–12 (.571) |
| Place | 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Lost WNBA Semifinals |
The 1997 WNBA season was the first for the Phoenix Mercury.
| Pick | Player | Nationality | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Michele Timms (G) |  Australia | Australia |
| 12 | Jennifer Gillom (C) |  United States | Mississippi |
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Bridget Pettis (F) | United States | Florida |
| 2 | 15 | Nancy Lieberman-Cline (G) | United States | Old Dominion |
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7th | Toni Foster | Iowa | |
| 2 | 9 | Tia Jackson (G/F) | United States | Iowa |
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Mercury x | 16 | 12 | .571 | 9–3 | – |
| Los Angeles Sparks o | 14 | 14 | .500 | 8–4 | 2.0 |
| Sacramento Monarchs o | 10 | 18 | .357 | 4–8 | 6.0 |
| Utah Starzz o | 7 | 21 | .250 | 3–9 | 9.0 |
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 22 | Charlotte | 76-59 | Win | 1-0 |
| June 24 | @ Houston | 55-70 | Loss | 1-1 |
| June 28 | @ Cleveland | 68-63 | Win | 2-1 |
| June 29 | @ New York | 57-65 | Loss | 2-2 |
| July 3 | @ Utah | 77-55 | Win | 3-2 |
| July 7 | New York | 69-50 | Win | 4-2 |
| July 9 | Houston | 69-64 | Win | 5-2 |
| July 12 | @ Utah | 51-52 | Loss | 5-3 |
| July 13 | @ Los Angeles | 57-56 | Win | 6-3 |
| July 16 | Sacramento | 84-67 | Win | 7-3 |
| July 21 | @ Sacramento | 70-57 | Win | 8-3 |
| July 22 | Houston | 69-77 | Loss | 8-4 |
| July 25 | Los Angeles | 83-86 (OT) | Loss | 8-5 |
| July 28 | Cleveland | 64-76 | Loss | 8-6 |
| July 30 | @ Charlotte | 67-68 | Loss | 8-7 |
| July 31 | @ Cleveland | 67-79 | Loss | 8-8 |
| August 2 | @ New York | 70-78 | Loss | 8-9 |
| August 4 | Sacramento | 83-60 | Win | 9-9 |
| August 6 | Utah | 78-46 | Win | 10-9 |
| August 7 | @ Houston | 70-74 | Loss | 10-10 |
| August 9 | @ Charlotte | 59-79 | Loss | 10-11 |
| August 12 | New York | 77-67 | Win | 11-11 |
| August 14 | Cleveland | 61-55 | Win | 12-11 |
| August 17 | Utah | 71-63 (OT) | Win | 13-11 |
| August 18 | @ Los Angeles | 66-75 | Loss | 13-12 |
| August 20 | @ Sacramento | 69-54 | Win | 14-12 |
| August 22 | Charlotte | 78-63 | Win | 15-12 |
| August 24 | Los Angeles | 73-68 (OT) | Win | 16-12 |
| August 28 (WNBA Semifinal) | New York | 41-59 | Loss | 0-1 |
Note: GP= Games played; FG = Field Goals; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points
| Player | GP | MIN | FG | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Gillom | 28 | 874 | 163 | 151 | 21 | 37 | 15 | 440 |
| Bridget Pettis | 28 | 842 | 107 | 107 | 78 | 49 | 12 | 352 |
| Michele Timms | 27 | 966 | 99 | 99 | 137 | 71 | 3 | 326 |
| Toni Foster | 28 | 736 | 246 | |||||
| Marlies Askamp | 28 | 211 | ||||||
| Umeki Webb | 28 | 141 | ||||||
| Tia Jackson | 26 | 74 | ||||||
| Nancy Lieberman-Cline | 25 | 64 | ||||||
| Tara Williams | 12 | 37 | ||||||
| Mikiko Hagiwara | 12 | 33 | ||||||
| Monique Ambers | 19 | 14 | ||||||
| Molly Tuter | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ryneldi Becenti | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Lost WNBA Semifinals (1-0) to New York Liberty
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Michele Margaret Timms is an Australian basketball coach and retired professional basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association(WNBA). Many people consider the Melbourne native to be one of Australia's greatest basketball players of all time. She has one daughter, Kalsie Timms. Timms was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. She was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016.
Jennifer "Grandmama" Gillom is an American former Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) basketball player who played for the Phoenix Mercury from 1997 to 2002, before finishing her playing career with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2003. Gillom is also a former Sparks head coach, also coached the Minnesota Lynx, and was, until 2015, an assistant coach of the Connecticut Sun.
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