They defeated the Sacramento Monarchs 90-81. "LEAGUE LOOKS AHEAD AFTER COMETS' DEMISE :WNBA. In 1999, led by what was already known as the Big Three, (Cynthia Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson), the Comets survived a highlight-film, last-second, court-to-court, game-winning shot by the Liberty's Teresa Weatherspoon in Game 2 of the finals to beat the Liberty in three games and win their third straight title, this one after the death of teammate Kim Perrot, who died of cancer. The Comets were one of the founding teams in the WNBA. Małgorzata Dydek (Starzz de l'Utah) face au Miracle d'Orlando le 7 juin 2001 avec 12 points, 11 rebonds, 10 contres The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston, Texas, United States.Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Women's National Basketball Association's Top 15 Players of All Time were chosen in 2011 on the occasion of the fifteenth season of the WNBA from amongst 30 nominees compiled by the league by fan, media, coach, and player voting. “We were still good, and our record was better, but we didn’t have as much talent. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and are tied with the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm for the most championships of any WNBA franchise. [4], League president Donna Orender said that the collapse of the Comets was not a sign that the WNBA was in trouble. ©2021 FOX Television Stations, Houston man followed home, robbed by two men with guns, 22-year-old free from jail on multiple felony bonds now suspected serial rapist, Woman gives birth to child in toilet, Conroe woman arrested, Dr. Peter Hotez on COVID-19 vaccine rollout, Wellness box, healthy gift idea for Valentine’s Day, N95 mask scam: Federal government says counterfeit masks sold to hospitals in at least 5 states, Impeachment trial: Trump accused of being 'inciter in chief' of deadly Capitol attack by House prosecutors, Harris County investigators release photos of car used in deadly shooting, Where to get COVID-19 vaccine in the Houston area, FEMA expected to open mass COVID-19 vaccine site in Houston this month. In 2008, the Comets' final year, they only drew an average 6,000 fans per game and sold out four games. 2000 was the Comets' last championship and last WNBA Finals appearance in franchise history. Sheryl Swoopes WNBA salaries are notoriously lower than those in the NBA—in 2014, the maximum league salary was $107,000 —but Swoopes, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA MVP, earned over $50 million by becoming the first female basketball player to lend her name to a sneaker: the Nike Air Swoopes . To force young women to compete with male-bodied athletes will bring about the collapse of women's sports. Houston would return to the playoffs with an 18-16 record, but lost to the 2005 defending champion Sacramento Monarchs in another sweep. 2006 was the last playoff appearance for the Houston Comets. When the league expanded the next season, the Comets were moved from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference. On December 12, 2007, team owner Hilton Koch announced that the Comets would be moving from the Toyota Center to Reliant Arena for the 2008 WNBA season. Here is a list of the Top 118 Female Athletes from the years 1900-2000, compiled in … Suiting up for the national women's team in the 1996 Olympic games, she took the gold. The team was folded and disbanded by the league in 2008 because new ownership could not be found. The team had among its members Cynthia Cooper (the WNBA's first MVP); college and national team standout Sheryl Swoopes; Kim Perrot, who succumbed to cancer in 1999; and college stars Michelle Snow and Tina Thompson. Comets players were sent off to other teams in a dispersal draft. She was the first player drafted to … Brownsville-native Sheryl Swoopes was the first woman signed to play in the WNBA. In 2000, behind league MVP Sheryl Swoopes and eventual WNBA Finals MVP Cynthia Cooper, the Comets beat the New York Liberty in two games to win their fourth title in a row cementing themselves as the greatest WNBA team ever assembled. In October 2006, team owner Leslie Alexander (who also owned the NBA's Houston Rockets) announced he was selling the Comets, and longtime head coach Van Chancellor resigned in January 2007. [2], The Comets played their final home game on September 15, 2008 at the Strahan Coliseum on the campus of Texas State due to Hurricane Ike. Sports Illustrated Top 100 Female athletes. Past guests included Sheryl Swoopes, Natasha Cloud, Renee Montgomery, Sydney Colson, and more. Explore the fact-checked online encyclopedia from Encyclopaedia Britannica with hundreds of thousands of objective articles, biographies, videos, and images from experts. ... 2021 by: Derrick Rossignol Facebook Twitter. Maya Moore and Seimone Augustus have four. She first gained national attention while playing at Texas Tech. Nike Penny 1 A headliner on the iconic 1996 U.S. women's national team and the first player to sign a WNBA contract, Swoopes and her sneakers carried the women's game to new heights. After the Comets' season ended in 2006, the Comets underwent major front-office changes during the off-season. Includes news, scores, schedules, statistics, photos and video. World > Lists > All Time Greatest > Women > SI. 25. Suiting up for the national women's team in the 1996 Olympic games, she took the gold. In 2003, they qualified to the playoffs for the 7th straight year, but they lost in the first round to the Sacramento Monarchs in 3 games. Former player Cynthia Cooper-Dyke said that the loss of the Comets was "disturbing news" and that the Comets were integral to the WNBA. She first gained national attention while playing at Texas Tech. Brownsville-native Sheryl Swoopes was the first woman signed to play in the WNBA. They capped off the league's inaugural season in 1997 with a win over the New York Liberty in the WNBA championship game to win the WNBA's first championship. No investors stepped up. They missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history with a record of 13-21 in 2004, but returned to the playoffs with a 19-15 record, finishing 3rd. They went on to repeat as champions, defeating the Phoenix Mercury in the first-ever WNBA Finals that year due to the championship game being extended into a three-game championship series. Scoring one thousand points in 46 games over her career, she reached that milestone faster than any other player at the time. On January 31, 2007, the WNBA Board of Governors approved the sale of the team to Hilton Koch, a Houston-based mattress and furniture businessman. Agler believes the Quest would have defeated the Comets in 1997 due to the strength of his McCray-led team, and because Comets star Sheryl Swoopes sat out the majority of that WNBA season, but he says his 1998 championship team would have had a stiffer challenge. The only other option comes with too steep a price. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The WNBA took over management of the Comets and disbanded the team in December 2008. In honor of National Girls & Women in Sports Day, Pistons players Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose, talk about some of their favorite WNBA players: Sheryl Swoopes… Cynthia Cooper-Dyke, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson have four. Born in Gambia and sold to the Wheatley family in Boston when she was 7 years old, Wheatley was emancipated shortly after her book was released. In the first round, the Comets knocked out the 2004 defending champion Seattle Storm in 3 games, but lost in the conference finals to the Sacramento Monarchs in a sweep, which Sacramento later became WNBA Champions in 2005. ", George Washington Colonials Women's Basketball Team, South Carolina Gamecocks Women's Basketball Team, Virginia Cavaliers Women's Basketball Team, Notre Dame Fighting Irish Women's Basketball Team, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Houston_Comets&oldid=998356055, Defunct Women's National Basketball Association teams, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Fireball Red, Stardust Silver, White, Galaxy Blue, This page was last edited on 5 January 2021, at 00:43. The Toyota Center drew 13,000 fans, but the Reliant Arena could only house 7,200. After Cooper retired in 2001, Houston clinched the playoffs with a 19-13 record, but lost in the first round in a sweep to the 2001 eventual champion Los Angeles Sparks. In 2002, when Swoopes was injured most of the year with a torn ACL, the Comets were able to qualify for the playoffs with a 24-8 record, but lost to the Utah Starzz in 3 games. The Comets were known for courting great women's basketball stars. Phillis Wheatley was the first African American to publish a book of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, in 1773. [3] They stated that they would only be suspending operations in 2009, which some people saw as a sign that the franchise could be revived if an investor came in. Scoring one thousand points in 46 games over her career, she reached that milestone faster than any other player at the time. They finished the season 17-17 and missed the playoffs for the third time in their history. They are one of two teams in the WNBA that are undefeated in the WNBA Finals; the Seattle Storm are the other (however, the Storm are still in operation). Subscribe Today Newsletters Mobile Apps Facebook Twitter E … "Comets just flamed out :Economic troubles cause WNBA team to close shop. [1] This resulted in a loss of fans. [2], Building the first dynasty of the WNBA (1997–2000), The years of change and rebuilding (2001–2006), Altavilla, John. The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston, Texas, United States. "Bars Fight," written by poet and activist Lucy Terry in 1746, was the first known poem written by a Black … Two weeks later, Comets assistant coach Karleen Thompson was named to become the team's new head coach and general manager for the 2007 season. WNBA star Asia Durr says COVID has wreaked havoc on her body -- and the damage is so severe, the 23-year-old isn't sure if she'll ever play basketball again. Sheryl Swoopes (Comets de Houston) face au Shock de Détroit le 27 juillet 1999 avec 14 points, 15 rebonds, 10 passes décisives. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The official site of the Detroit Pistons. In 1998, they put together a win loss record of 27-3 for a .900 winning percentage – a WNBA record that still stands. For the 2007 season, they would miss the playoffs for the second time in franchise history after starting the season 0-10, resulting in a 13-21 record. [2], In 2008, Koch put the team up for sale, with an asking price of $10 million. On top of a legendary career, Swoopes was the first woman to ever get a Nike shoe named after her. The panel discusses and remembers the life of NBA All-Star player Kobe Bryant and the legacy he left behind. Basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes, who has been at the forefront of social activism for decades, watched in awe as it all played out. 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