1998 Phoenix Mercury season | |
---|---|
Coach | Cheryl Miller |
Arena | America West Arena |
Attendance | 13,765 per game |
Results | |
Record | 19–11 (.633) |
Place | 2nd (Western) |
Playoff finish | Lost WNBA Finals (2-1) to Houston Comets |
The 1998 WNBA season was the second season for the Phoenix Mercury. The Mercury reached their first WNBA Finals, but championship hopes were denied when they lost to the Houston Comets in three games.
Tara Williams was picked up by the Detroit Shock in the 1998 WNBA Expansion Draft.
Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Club Team |
1 | 8 | Maria Stepanova (C) | Russia | Russia |
2 | 18 | Andrea Kuklova (G/F) | Slovakia | Slovakia |
3 | 28 | Brandy Reed (F) | United States | Southern Mississippi |
4 | 38 | Karen Wilkins (G/F) | United States | Howard |
Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Houston Comets x | 27 | 3 | .900 | 15–1 | – |
Phoenix Mercury x | 19 | 11 | .633 | 10–6 | 8.0 |
Los Angeles Sparks o | 12 | 18 | .400 | 6–10 | 15.0 |
Sacramento Monarchs o | 8 | 22 | .267 | 5–11 | 19.0 |
Utah Starzz o | 8 | 22 | .267 | 4–12 | 19.0 |
Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
June 11 | @ Sacramento | 73-70 | Win | 1-0 |
June 14 | Los Angeles | 70-60 | Win | 2-0 |
June 15 | Washington | 69-54 | Win | 3-0 |
June 21 | Charlotte | 71-72 | Loss | 3-1 |
June 24 | Houston | 69-66 | Win | 4-1 |
June 26 | Utah | 96-63 | Win | 5-1 |
June 28 | @ Washington | 86-69 | Win | 6-1 |
June 29 | @ New York | 68-71 | Loss | 6-2 |
July 2 | @ Cleveland | 76-61 | Win | 7-2 |
July 4 | @ Charlotte | 66-68 | Loss | 7-3 |
July 8 | @ Detroit | 78-76 | Win | 8-3 |
July 10 | Cleveland | 76-60 | Win | 9-3 |
July 13 | Los Angeles | 72-62 | Win | 10-3 |
July 15 | Detroit | 73-60 | Win | 11-3 |
July 18 | New York | 63-69 | Loss | 11-4 |
July 20 | Sacramento | 88-67 | Win | 12-4 |
July 21 | Houston | 62-65 | Loss | 12-5 |
July 23 | @ Los Angeles | 68-70 | Loss | 12-6 |
July 27 | @ Utah | 80-90 | Loss | 12-7 |
July 28 | @ Houston | 62-72 | Loss | 12-8 |
July 31 | @ Los Angeles | 56-71 | Loss | 12-9 |
August 4 | Washington | 88-59 | Win | 13-9 |
August 6 | @ Houston | 64-75 | Loss | 13-10 |
August 8 | Utah | 68-62 | Win | 14-10 |
August 10 | @ Cleveland | 82-80 | Win | 15-10 |
August 11 | @ New York | 78-79 | Loss | 15-11 |
August 14 | Detroit | 84-59 | Win | 16-11 |
August 16 | @ Sacramento | 85-69 | Win | 17-11 |
August 17 | @ Utah | 75-64 | Win | 18-11 |
August 19 | Sacramento | 71-62 | Win | 19-11 |
Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
WNBA Semifinals | |||||
1 | August 22 | Cleveland | 78-68 | Win | 1-0 |
2 | August 24 | @ Cleveland | 66-67 | Loss | 1-1 |
3 | August 25 | @ Cleveland | 71-60 | Win | 2-1 |
WNBA Finals | |||||
1 | August 27 | Houston | 54-51 | Win | 3-1 |
2 | August 29 | @ Houston | 69-74 (OT) | Loss | 3-2 |
3 | September 1 | @ Houston | 71-80 | Loss | 3-3 |
Player | GP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
Jennifer Gillom | 30 | 219 | 42 | 50 | 10 | 624 |
Bridget Pettis | 30 | 103 | 62 | 29 | 9 | 338 |
Michelle Brogan | 30 | 133 | 41 | 44 | 5 | 275 |
Michele Timms | 30 | 74 | 158 | 38 | 4 | 207 |
Umeki Webb | 30 | 116 | 92 | 47 | 21 | 161 |
Marlies Askamp | 26 | 85 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 139 |
Brandy Reed | 24 | 78 | 20 | 18 | 7 | 124 |
Andrea Kuklova | 29 | 37 | 31 | 18 | 4 | 97 |
Toni Foster | 16 | 30 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 79 |
Kristi Harrower | 30 | 21 | 52 | 15 | 3 | 70 |
Maria Stepanova | 20 | 38 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 66 |
Mikiko Hagiwara | 10 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 22 |
Pauline Jordan | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). One of eight original franchises, it was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began.
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.
Diana Lorena Taurasi is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and is considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history. She was drafted by Phoenix first overall in the 2004 WNBA draft. Taurasi has won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2004), three WNBA championships, a historic five Olympic gold medals, one WNBA Most Valuable Player Award (2009), two WNBA Finals MVP Awards, five scoring titles, and three FIBA World Cups. She has also been selected to ten WNBA All-Star teams and fourteen All-WNBA teams. In 2011, she was voted by fans as one of the WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time, and was named by the league to its 20th and 25th anniversary teams, respectively the WNBA Top 20@20 in 2016 and The W25 in 2021. Also in 2021, she was selected by fans as the league's greatest player of all time. On June 18, 2017, Taurasi became the WNBA all-time leading scorer and on June 27, 2021, became the first player to surpass 9,000 points. On August 3, 2023, Taurasi became the first player to score 10,000 career points. Her penchant for scoring in crucial situations has earned her the nickname "White Mamba", coined by Kobe Bryant. Taurasi is one of 11 women to win an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup, and a WNBA Championship.
Penelope Jane Taylor is an Australian former professional basketball player and assistant coach. During her 19-year career, Taylor spent the most time with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, where she won three championships. She also won the WNBL title with her first club, the Australian Institute of Sport, and played in China, Italy, Turkey and Russia. As part of the Australian woman's national team, Taylor won two Olympic medals and led the Australian Opals to a gold medal at the World Championships, winning tournament MVP honours ahead of teammate Lauren Jackson.
Vanessa Nygaard is a professional basketball coach and former player in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is the former head coach for the Phoenix Mercury.
Lisa Harrison is a former American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Sandra Anne Brondello is an Australian women's basketball coach, and the current head coach of the New York Liberty of the WNBA. Brondello played in Australia, Germany and the WNBA before retiring to become a coach. The 5 ft 7 in Brondello is one of Australia's all-time best shooting guards. She played on Australia's "Opals" national team at four Summer Olympics, and won three medals. She attended the Australian Institute of Sport in 1986–1987, and was inducted to the Australian Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
The Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is made up of six teams.
The 2007 WNBA Finals was the championship series of the 2007 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Phoenix Mercury, top-seeded champions of the Western Conference, defeated the Detroit Shock, top-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference, three games to two in a best-of-five series. This was Phoenix's first ever professional basketball title.
The 1998 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 1998 WNBA season, and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Houston Comets, top-seeded team of the league, defeated the Phoenix Mercury, third-seeded team of the league, two games to one in a best-of-three series. This was Houston's second straight title.
The 2014 WNBA Finals was the playoff series for the 2014 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and the conclusion of the season's playoffs. The Phoenix Mercury, champions of the Western Conference, faced the Chicago Sky, champions of the Eastern Conference.
The Dallas Wings are an American professional basketball team based in Arlington, Texas. The Wings play in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team is owned by a group led by chairman Bill Cameron. Greg Bibb is president and CEO. Brad Hilsabeck joined the Dallas Wings ownership group in March 2019 with the acquisition of Mark Yancey’s interest in the Wings.
The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team plays their home games at Michelob Ultra Arena in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada. The Aces won the 2022 WNBA Commissioner's Cup and WNBA Championship.
The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Phoenix Mercury franchise of the WNBA. The season tipped off on May 14.
Monique Ambers is an American retired basketball player and coach. Ambers played for the Phoenix Mercury in the 1997 season and the Sacramento Monarchs in the 2002 season.
The 2020 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on July 25, 2020, versus the Los Angeles Sparks.
Megan Kayla Walker is an American professional basketball player. She played college basketball for the UConn Huskies. Walker was selected to the first team All-American by the Associated Press (AP) and by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) in 2020.
The 2021 WNBA season was the 24th season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 14, 2021, at the Minnesota Lynx.
The 2021 WNBA Finals, officially the WNBA Finals 2021 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-five championship series for the 2021 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The finals featured the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury facing off against the sixth-seeded Chicago Sky, a rematch of the 2014 Finals. The Sky defeated the Mercury in 4 games, winning their first WNBA Championship, as well as Chicago's first professional basketball championship since 1998.
The 2022 WNBA season was the 25th season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season began on May 6, 2022, against the Las Vegas Aces and ended in the 1st round of the WNBA Playoffs against the same team. The season was marred by a number of issues, including injuries and the absence of Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia on drug charges.