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This One Was For Kim

© Colleen Bittner

Back to back to back championships is what the Houston Comets have now. On Sunday, September 5 the Comets won their third WNBA championship, but this one may have meant more to anybody than the last two. They won this game for Kim Perrot. On August 19, 1999 Kim Perrot, point guard for the Houston Comets died from complications from lung cancer. Throughout the entire playoff series, every Comets team member wore a number 10 button on their shooting shirt. The fans wore white ribbons. Number 10 signs outnumbered Cynthia Cooper signs.

The comets won their first game of the championship series, 73-60. Cynthia Cooper was the high scorer, scoring 20 of her game-high 29 points in the second half. After a 15-3 run by the New York Liberty, following a three pointer by Sophia Witherspoon, Cooper broke the Liberty's momentum by hitting a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 12:40 to go. Then Swoopes finished a 3-point play with 11:29 to go to make the score 44-35. New York never got closer than seven points after that.

In game two, the New York Liberty won in probably the most amazing way in WNBA history. The Houston Comets had already started celebrating what seemed to be their third WNBA championship when Tina Thompson banked an eight footer with 2.4 seconds to go, making the score 67-65.

New York had no timeouts and Becky Hammon struggled to inbound ball to Teresa Weatherspoon, who caught the ball about 75 feet from the basket. She took two dribbles, giving herself enough momentum to let fly with a shot from behind the time line that slammed off the top of the backboard box and fell cleanly through the net for the winning points, sending the championship series into game three.

Cynthia Cooper never has two bad games in a row. In game two of the championship series Cooper played what seemed like the worst game of her 1999 career, but came back beautifully in game three. Cooper and Swoopes combined for 20 of Houston's first 22 points as the Comets started with a 22-15 lead with only 5:45 to go in the half. New York came within 26-25 with a 3-pointer by Teresa Weatherspoon, but Tammie Jackson hit two free throws and a layup after a three-point play by Cooper, as Houston took a 33-25 lead at halftime.

In the second half, a jumper by Johnson pulled New York within 38-31 at 9:54 left to go in the game. Thompson started the game-breaking run with a lay-in and Cooper added two free throws with 7:59 to go. Cooper added with a free throw before Tina Thompson hit an eight-footer over Sue Wicks and was fouled. After making the free throw, Cooper passed to Tina Thompson who hit a 15 footer that topped the run giving Houston a 71 point lead with 4:29 left to go. Houston never looked back. With a final score of 59-47, the comets had won their third championship in a row. They won it for Kim Perrot.

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