1997 New York Liberty season
CoachNancy Darsch
ArenaMadison Square Garden
Attendance13,270 per game
Results
Record17–11 (.607)
Place2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishLost WNBA Finals

The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the New York Liberty.

Offseason

Initial Player Allocation

Pick Player Nationality WNBA Team College/HS/Club Team
9 Rebecca Lobo (C/F)  United States New York Liberty Connecticut
10 Teresa Weatherspoon (G)  United States New York Liberty Louisiana Tech

[1]

WNBA draft

Pick Player Nationality School/Club Team

Regular season

The Liberty's and WNBA's first game was played on June 21, 1997, in Los Angeles. Led by head coach Nancy Darsch, the Liberty defeated the Los Angeles Sparks, 67-57. The attendance at the Forum was 14,284.[2] The Liberty began their existence with a three-game road trip, where the Liberty went undefeated. The club came back to New York with a 3-0 record. Their first home game was played in Madison Square Garden. On June 29, 1997, in front of a crowd of 17,780, the Liberty scored their first win at home, defeating Phoenix, 65-57.[2]

Season standings

Eastern Conference W L PCT Conf. GB
Houston Comets x 18 10 .643 6–6 –
New York Liberty x 17 11 .607 8–4 1.0
Charlotte Sting x 15 13 .536 5–7 3.0
Cleveland Rockers o 15 13 .536 5–7 3.0

Season Schedule

Date Opponent Score Result Record
June 21 @ Los Angeles 67-57 Win 1-0
June 23 @ Sacramento 73-62 Win 2-0
June 26 @ Houston 62-60 (OT) Win 3-0
June 29 Phoenix 65-57 Win 4-0
July 2 Houston 70-67 Win 5-0
July 4 @ Houston 65-58 Win 6-0
July 5 @ Utah 66-53 Win 7-0
July 7 @ Phoenix 50-69 Loss 7-1
July 9 @ Charlotte 69-87 Loss 7-2
July 10 Charlotte 62-48 Win 8-2
July 14 @ Cleveland 68-57 Win 9-2
July 15 Cleveland 76-59 Win 10-2
July 17 Utah 80-54 Win 11-2
July 19 Los Angeles 69-57 Win 12-2
July 22 Utah 71-78 Loss 12-3
July 23 @ Charlotte 65-63 Win 13-3
July 26 Charlotte 61-64 Loss 13-4
July 30 Sacramento 73-68 (OT) Win 14-4
August 2 Phoenix 78-70 Win 15-4
August 5 Los Angeles 50-67 Loss 15-5
August 10 @ Sacramento 69-76 Loss 15-6
August 12 @ Phoenix 67-77 Loss 15-7
August 15 Sacramento 79-63 Win 16-7
August 17 Houston 55-70 Loss 16-8
August 19 @ Utah 75-81 Loss 16-9
August 20 @ Los Angeles 76-78 Loss 16-10
August 23 @ Cleveland 71-72 Loss 16-11
August 24 Cleveland 79-72 (OT) Win 17-11
August 28 (WNBA Semifinal) @ Phoenix 59-41 Win 1-0
August 30 (WNBA Championship Game) @ Houston 51-65 Loss 1-1

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG

[3]

Awards and honors

[4]

References

  1. ^ "WNBA.com: All-Time WNBA Draft List". Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2008.
  2. ^ a b "News Archive".
  3. ^ a b c "1997 WNBA Season Summary".
  4. ^ "Postseason Awards: 1997". WNBA.com. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
Categories