2001 WNBA Finals
Team Coach Wins
Los Angeles Sparks
Michael Cooper
2
Charlotte Sting
Anne Donovan
0
Dates August 30-September 1 MVP Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles Sparks) Eastern Finals Charlotte defeated New York , 2–1Western Finals Los Angeles defeated Sacramento , 2–1 < 2000
WNBA Finals
The 2001 WNBA Championship was the championship series of the 2001 WNBA season , and the conclusion of the season's playoffs . The Los Angeles Sparks , top-seeded champions of the Western Conference , defeated the Charlotte Sting , fourth-seeded champions of the Eastern Conference , two games to none in a best-of-three series. This was Los Angeles' first title.
The Sparks made their first appearance in the Finals in franchise history. The Sting also made their first Finals appearance.
Going into the series, no other team except the Houston Comets had ever won a WNBA championship (1997 -2000 ).
The Sparks had a 28–4 record (.875), good enough to receive home-court advantage over the Sting (18–14). It did not matter, however, as the Sparks swept the Sting.
Road to the finals [ ]
Los Angeles Sparks
Charlotte Sting
28–4 (.875) 1st West, 1st overall
Regular season
18–14 (.562) 4th East, 8th overall
Defeated the (4) Houston Comets , 2–0
Conference Semifinals
Defeated the (1) Cleveland Rockers , 2–1
Defeated the (2) Sacramento Monarchs , 2–1
Conference Finals
Defeated the (2) New York Liberty , 2–1
Regular season series [ ]
The Sparks won the regular season series:
Recap at the
Wayback Machine (archived October 6, 2001)
Los Angeles Sparks 76 , Charlotte Sting 67
Recap at the
Wayback Machine (archived December 14, 2001)
Charlotte Sting 69, Los Angeles Sparks 73
Staples Center , Los Angeles
Game summaries [ ]
All times listed below are Eastern Daylight Time .
Game 1 [ ]
Recap at the
Wayback Machine (archived October 6, 2001)
Los Angeles Sparks 75 , Charlotte Sting 66
Scoring by half: 35–39, 40–27
Pts : Leslie (24)Rebs : Leslie , Milton (8)Asts : Milton (5)
Pts: Stinson (18)Rebs: Feaster (5)Asts: Stinson (5)
Charlotte Coliseum ,
Charlotte Attendance: 16,132
Referees:
Melissa Barlow
Michael Price
Gary Zielinski
Game 2 [ ]
Recap at the
Wayback Machine (archived October 31, 2001)
Charlotte Sting 54, Los Angeles Sparks 82
Scoring by half: 30–38, 24–44
Pts : Sutton-Brown (12)Rebs : Smith (8)Asts : Staley (5)
Pts: Leslie (24)Rebs: Leslie (13)Asts: Dixon (7)
STAPLES Center ,
Los Angeles Attendance: 13,141
Referees:
Patty Broderick
June Corteau
Bob Trammell
Awards [ ]
2001 WNBA Champion: Los Angeles Sparks
Finals MVP : Lisa Leslie
Rosters [ ]
2001 Los Angeles Sparks Finals roster
Players
Coaches
F
00
Byears, Latasha
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
206 lb (93 kg)
DePaul
G
21
Dixon, Tamecka
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
148 lb (67 kg)
Kansas
G
5
Figgs, Ukari
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
142 lb (64 kg)
Purdue
F
17
Grgin-Fonseca, Vedrana
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Croatia
C
9
Leslie, Lisa
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Southern California
G
40
Levandusky, Nicole
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
163 lb (74 kg)
Xavier
F
4
Mabika, Mwadi
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
C
51
Mapp, Rhonda
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
North Carolina State
G
10
McCrimmon, Nicky
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
125 lb (57 kg)
Southern California
F
8
Milton, Delisha
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
172 lb (78 kg)
Florida
G
20
Willits, Wendy
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
141 lb (64 kg)
Arkansas
Head coach
Michael Cooper (New Mexico )
Assistant coaches
Glenn McDonald
Legend
(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured
2001 Charlotte Sting Finals roster
Players
Coaches
G
20
Anderson, Keisha
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
125 lb (57 kg)
Wisconsin
G
13
Edwards, Tonya
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Tennessee
F
7
Enis, Shalonda
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Alabama
C
3
Erb, Summer
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
240 lb (109 kg)
North Carolina State
F
21
Feaster, Allison
5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
168 lb (76 kg)
Harvard University
C
33
Machanguana, Clarisse
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Old Dominion
G
8
Miller, Kelly
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
144 lb (65 kg)
Georgia
F
23
Smith, Charlotte
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
148 lb (67 kg)
North Carolina
G
5
Staley, Dawn
5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
134 lb (61 kg)
Virginia
G
32
Stinson, Andrea
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
158 lb (72 kg)
North Carolina State
C
55
Sutton-Brown, Tammy
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
203 lb (92 kg)
Rutgers
Head coach
Anne Donovan (Old Dominion )
Assistant coaches
Trudi Lacey
Cheryl Reeve
Legend
(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured
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