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Cooper looks to win third WNBA championship

Associated Press

NEW YORK - Houston Comets star Cynthia Cooper has had more than her share of adversity.

Her mother, Mary, was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly before the inaugural WNBA season in the spring of 1997. She died in February, the same month that Cooper's best friend and teammate, Kim Perrot, announced she had lung and brain cancer.

Perrot died on Aug. 19. Cooper hopes to dedicate her third WNBA championship to the feisty point guard who helped lead the Comets to consecutive titles in 1997-98.

''I'm proud of the team and how they stuck together in tough times,'' Cooper said. ''It seems like every season it's something.''

With heavy hearts, Houston meets the New York Liberty in the best-of-3 championship series that begins tonight at Madison Square Garden. Thoughts of Perrot are not far from the players' minds.

''Emotionally, we're OK,'' Cooper said. ''We're not exactly where we ideally would want to be. It's been extremely tough. But this season we hung in there and came away with the best record in the WNBA. We're looking to win this championship.''

The Comets finished the regular season 26-6 and defeated Los Angeles 2-1 in the Western Conference finals. New York, picked to finish fourth in the Eastern Conference, finished first with an 18-14 record and defeated Charlotte 2-1 in the playoffs.

The series is a rematch of the inaugural one-game 1997 WNBA championship, which the Comets won 65-51.

Houston coach Van Chancellor is looking forward to exciting front-court play. Cooper, the league's scoring leader for the third time with a 22.1 average, faces Teresa Weatherspoon, a two-time WNBA defensive player of the year.

''It's Cooper, the ultimate offensive player, against Weatherspoon, the ultimate defensive player,'' Chancellor said. ''It's a tremendous matchup. Both are the inspirational leaders of their teams. It's a matchup second to none.''

The teams split two games this season, each winning at home. New York won 74-71 before 19,563 at Madison Square Garden on Aug. 8, holding the Comets to one offensive rebound.

The Liberty lost 65-50 at Houston on July 3. New York scored just 15 points in the first half and set league records for futility in field goals made (14) and shooting percentage (21.8).

The challenge for New York is to contain the Comets' three stars - Cooper, Sheryl Swoopes and Tina Thompson. They averaged a combined 52.6 points during the regular season. The Liberty's top three scorers averaged 34.2 points.

''We just have to be ready for the Big Three,'' Weatherspoon said. ''Houston is a totally different team than Charlotte. You can be up by 20 points, and it's not enough.''

When Rebecca Lobo went down with a season-ending knee injury 42 seconds into the opener, New York's future looked bleak. But veteran Sue Wicks and rookie Tamika Whitmore went to work on the boards, and Crystal Robinson, the Liberty's first-round pick, made 43.7 percent of her 3-pointers.

Known for defense, the Liberty have shown offensive spark during the playoffs.

New York shot a playoff-record 55 percent in Game 2 against Charlotte and followed with a 54-percent performance on Monday.

But the Liberty will have to overcome the emotional strength of the Comets, who are driven to win for Perrot.

''Even at the beginning of the season, we wanted to dedicate our season to Kim,'' Swoopes said.

The Comets return to Houston on Saturday for Game 2 and, if necessary, Game 3 on Sunday. The WNBA playoff format gives the team with the best record the homecourt advantage in the final two games.

''I like the format now,'' New York coach Richie Adubato said. ''I don't think they've lost any playoff games at home, so we'll take the first one here.''

Houston went 15-1 at home during the regular season, while the Liberty was 12-4 at Madison Square Garden.

The teams have played 10 games, with the overall series tied at 5-5. Both teams have had success on the road, with Houston winning three times in New York and the Liberty prevailing twice in Houston.

''We know it's going to be a dogfight,'' Liberty forward Sophia Witherspoon said. ''Everybody wants that ring and everybody wants that trophy."