| 1997 Phoenix Mercury season | |
|---|---|
| Coach | Cheryl Miller |
| Arena | America West Arena |
| Attendance | 13,703 per game |
| Results | |
| Record | 16–12 (.571) |
| Place | 1st (Western) |
| Playoff finish | Lost WNBA Semifinals |
| |
The 1997 WNBA season was the first for the Phoenix Mercury.
| Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|
| Jennifer Gillom |  United States
|
Ole Miss |
| Michele Timms |  Australia
|
WTV Wuppertal (Germany) |
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Bridget Pettis | United States
|
Florida |
| 2 | 15 | Nancy Lieberman-Cline | United States
|
Old Dominion |
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Toni Foster | United States
|
Iowa |
| 2 | 9 | Tia Jackson | United States
|
Iowa |
| 3 | 24 | Umeki Webb | United States
|
NC State |
| 4 | 25 | Monique Ambers | United States
|
Arizona State |
| Date | Transaction | |
|---|---|---|
| January 22, 1997 | Drafted Jennifer Gillom and Michele Timms in the 1997 WNBA Allocation Draft[1] | |
| January 27, 1997 | Hired Cheryl Miller as Head Coach[1] | |
| February 27, 1997 | Drafted Bridget Pettis and Nancy Lieberman-Cline in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft[1] | |
| April 28, 1997 | Drafted Toni Foster, Tia Jackson, Umeki Webb and Monique Ambers in the 1997 WNBA Draft[1] | |
| May 22, 1997 | Signed Marlies Askamp and Tara Williams[1] | |
| June 20, 1997 | Waived Ryneldi Becenti[1] | |
| July 22, 1997 | Waived Molly Tuter[1] | |
| Signed Ryneldi Becenti[1] | ||
| July 31, 1997 | Traded future considerations to the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for Mikiko Hagiwara[1] | |
| 1997 Phoenix Mercury roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1997 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||
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Semifinal vs. New York Liberty
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| 1997 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||
| Western Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix Mercury x | 16 | 12 | .571 | 9–3 | – |
| Los Angeles Sparks o | 14 | 14 | .500 | 8–4 | 2.0 |
| Sacramento Monarchs o | 10 | 18 | .357 | 4–8 | 6.0 |
| Utah Starzz o | 7 | 21 | .250 | 3–9 | 9.0 |
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michele Timms | 27 | 27 | 35.8 | .336 | .345 | .760 | 3.7 | 5.0 | 2.6 | 0.1 | 12.1 |
| Jennifer Gillom | 28 | 28 | 31.2 | .434 | .313 | .777 | 5.4 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 15.7 |
| Bridget Pettis | 28 | 28 | 30.1 | .334 | .306 | .898 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 12.6 |
| Umeki Webb | 28 | 17 | 27.7 | .297 | 0.67 | .687 | 4.2 | 2.4 | 2.4 | 0.3 | 5.0 |
| Toni Foster | 28 | 28 | 26.3 | .468 | .167 | .704 | 6.1 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.8 | 8.8 |
| Marlies Askamp | 28 | 1 | 18.5 | .393 | .000 | .763 | 5.2 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 7.5 |
| Mikiko Hagiwara | 12 | 5 | 15.5 | .256 | .286 | .500 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 2.8 |
| Tia Jackson | 26 | 6 | 12.3 | .342 | .375 | .840 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 2.8 |
| Nancy Lieberman-Cline | 25 | 0 | 11.2 | .325 | .231 | .800 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 2.6 |
| Ryneldi Becenti | 1 | 0 | 8.0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Tara Williams | 12 | 0 | 7.0 | .410 | .455 | N/A | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 3.1 |
| Monique Ambers | 19 | 0 | 4.5 | .444 | N/A | .400 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.7 |
| Molly Tuter | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | N/A | N/A | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
