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Houston Comets
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The Houston Comets was a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team is one of the original eight WNBA teams and won all four championships in the first four years of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and they have won more championships than any other team in the WNBA. They began as the sister team of the Houston Rockets. The team was folded and disbanded by the league in 2008 because new ownership was not found.
The Comets were also known for courting great women's basketball stars.
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Encyclopedia
The Houston Comets was a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team is one of the original eight WNBA teams and won all four championships in the first four years of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and they have won more championships than any other team in the WNBA. They began as the sister team of the Houston Rockets. The team was folded and disbanded by the league in 2008 because new ownership was not found.
The Comets were also known for courting great women's basketball stars. 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 star Tina Thompson.
Franchise history
Building the First Dynasty of the WNBA (1997-2000)
The Comets were one of the founding teams 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. When the league expanded the next season, the Comets were moved from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference. In 1998, they repeated the championship, although by then the championship game had been extended into a three game championship series. They beat the Phoenix Mercury in the first-ever WNBA Finals that year.
In 1999, led by what was already known as the Big Three, (Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper 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. In 2000, the Comets went all the way to the Finals again, and beat the Liberty in two games to win their fourth title in a row, becoming known as a sports dynasty.
The Years of Change and Rebuilding (2001-06)
After Cooper retired in 2001, they were able to reach only the quarterfinals, and in 2002, when Swoopes was injured most of the year with a torn ACL, they lost at the Quarterfinals again. In 2003, they qualified to the playoffs for the 7th straight year, but losing first round to the Sacramento Monarchs in 3 games. They missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 2004, but earned a playoff berth in 2005. After being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs to the Sacramento Monarchs in 2006, the Comets underwent major front-office changes during the off-season. In October 2006, team owner Leslie Alexander (who also owns the NBA's Houston Rockets team) announced he was selling the Comets, and longtime Head Coach Van Chancellor resigned in January 2007.
New Ownership and a New Home (2007)
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. 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.
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.
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. This resulted in a loss of fans. The Compaq Center drew 13,000 fans, but the Reliant Arena could only house 7,200. In 2008, the Comets' final year, they only drew an average 6,000 fans per game and sold out four games.
End (2008)
In 2008, Koch put the team up for sale, asking $10 million USD. No investors stepped up. The WNBA took over management of the Comets and disbanded the team in December 2008. 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. Comets players were sent off to other teams in a dispersal draft.
League president Donna Orender said that the collapse of the Comets was not a sign that the WNBA was in trouble. Cooper-Dyke said that the loss of the Comets was "disturbing news" and that the Comets were integral to the WNBA.
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. They defeated the Sacramento Monarchs 90-81. They finished the season 17-17 and missed the playoffs for the third time in their history.
Season-by-season records
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|colspan="6" align=center bgcolor="#B22222" | Houston Comets
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|1997 || 18 || 10 || .643 || Won WNBA Semifinals
Won WNBA Finals || Houston 70, Charlotte 54
Houston 65, New York 51
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|1998 || 27 || 3 || .900 || Won WNBA Semifinals
Won WNBA Finals || Houston 2, Charlotte 0
Houston 2, Phoenix 1
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|1999 || 26 || 6 || .813 || Won Conference Finals
Won WNBA Finals || Houston 2, Los Angeles 1
Houston 2, New York 1
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|2000 || 27 || 5 || .844 || Won First Round
Won Conference Finals
Won WNBA Finals || Houston 2, Sacramento 0
Houston 2, Los Angeles 0
Houston 2, New York 0
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|2001 || 19 || 13 || .594 || Lost First Round || Los Angeles 2, Houston 0
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|2002 || 24 || 8 || .750 || Lost First Round || Utah 2, Houston 1
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|2003 || 20 || 14 || .588 || Lost First Round || Sacramento 2, Houston 1
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|2004 || 13 || 21 || .382 ||
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|2005 || 19 || 15 || .559 || Won First Round
Lost Conference Finals || Houston 2, Seattle 1
Sacramento 2, Houston 0
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|2006 || 18 || 16 || .529 || Lost First Round || Sacramento 2, Houston 0
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|2007 || 13 || 21 || .382 ||
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|2008 || 17 || 17 || .500 || ||
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|Totals || 241 || 149 || .618|| ||
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|Playoffs || 20 || 14 || .588 || 4 WNBA Championships
Team owners
- Leslie Alexander (1997-2006)
- Hilton Koch (2007-2008)
- WNBA (2008)
Players of note
Final roster
Retired numbers
Former Comets
- Matee Ajavon, now a member of the Washington Mystics
- Janeth Arcain, played nine seasons with the Comets (1997-2005) and overseas before retiring. A key player during the Comets WNBA dynasty from 1997-2000, her breakout season was 2001, when she got the WNBA Most Improved Player Award & First Team All-WNBA honors.
- Octavia Blue
- Latasha Byears
- Dominique Canty, now a member of the Chicago Sky
- Cynthia Cooper, now the Head Coach at Prairie View A&M University
- Tamecka Dixon
- Ukari Figgs
- Sonja Henning
- Tammy Jackson
- Shannon Johnson
- Amanda Lassiter
- Edwige Lawson, now a member of the San Antonio Silver Stars
- Tynesha Lewis
- Sancho Lyttle, now a member of the Atlanta Dream
- Mwadi Mabika
- Hamchétou Maïga-Ba
- Kim Perrot
- Jennifer Rizzotti, now the head coach at Hartford University
- Michelle Snow
- Dawn Staley, now the head coach at the University of South Carolina
- Sheryl Swoopes, now a member of the Seattle Storm
- Lindsay Taylor
- Tina Thompson
- Amaya Valdemoro
- Coquese Washington, now the head coach at Penn State University
- Kara Wolters
Coaches and others
Head Coaches:
External links
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