1998 Phoenix Mercury season
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.
| 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 |
Offseason
Tara Williams was picked up by the Detroit Shock in the 1998 WNBA Expansion Draft.
WNBA 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 |
Regular season
Season standings
| 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 |
Season schedule
| 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 |
Playoffs
| 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 stats
| 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 |
References
External links
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