WNBA 2007

	Women's National Basketball Association
	◄ previous	2007 season	next ►
Duration		May 19 - September 16
Season games per team		34
Number of teams		13
Spectators (total)		1,719,369
Regular season
Best record		Detroit Shock
Season MVP		Lauren Jackson
Top scorer		Lauren Jackson
Playoffs
Eastern - Champion		Detroit Shock
Runner-up team		Indiana Fever
Western - Champion		Phoenix Mercury
Runner-up team		San Antonio Silver Stars
Finals
WNBA champion		Phoenix Mercury
Runner-up		Detroit Shock
Finals MVP		Cappie Pondexter

The 2007 season was the eleventh regular season for the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The regular season began on May 19, 2007 and ended on August 19, 2007. Four days later, the WNBA playoffs started, which ended on September 16, 2007 with the WNBA Finals and the victory of the Phoenix Mercury .

Season Notes

• On January 3, 2007, the Charlotte Sting were dissolved. According to the owners, the reason for this was the small number of spectators and thus also the low income.

• The WNBA Draft took place on April 4th in Cleveland , Ohio . As a first pick that drew Phoenix Mercury , Lindsey Harding from Duke University . The point guard from Duke University was soon transferred to the Minnesota Lynx for Tangela Smith .

• The regular season began on May 19, 2007 with the game between the reigning champions, the Detroit Shock and the runner-up, the Sacramento Monarchs . The regular season ended on August 19th. Lauren Jackson was chosen as Most Valuable Player and Dan Hughes as Coach of the Season

• The WNBA championship won the first time the Phoenix Mercury , who defeated the Detroit Shock 3–2 in the final series . Mercury Guard Cappie Pondexter has been named a Finals MVP.

• The 8th WNBA All-Star Game took place on July 15, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC , which the Eastern All Stars won with 103-99 against the Western All Stars. Detroit Shock Center, Cheryl Ford was named MVP of the game.

Draft

• Main article: WNBA Draft 2007

On January 3, 2007, the owners of the Charlotte Sting announced that they no longer wanted to fund the team. The WNBA did not find an owner for the team, which is why the players could be drafted by the other teams in the league in a dispersal draft on January 8th .

The eleventh WNBA Draft took place on April 4, 2007 at the Renaissance Hotels in Cleveland , Ohio , United States . On October 26, 2006, the selection order for a lottery was determined. These won the Phoenix Mercury ahead of the San Antonio Silver Stars and the Chicago Sky .

As a first pick, the Mercury drew the American Lindsey Harding . After that, San Antonio picked Jessica Davenport in second place , followed by Armintie Price in third place. In total, the 13 franchises secured the rights to 39 players. The United States made up the majority with over three quarters of all female players .

Top 5 picks

Abbreviations: Pos = Position, G = Guard, F = Forward, C = Center

#	Player	nationality	Item	WNBA team	College / professional team
1.	Lindsey Harding	United States	G	Phoenix Mercury	Duke University
2.	Jessica Davenport	United States	C.	San Antonio Silver Stars	Ohio State University
3.	Armintie Price	United States	G	Chicago Sky	University of Mississippi
4th	Noelle Quinn	United States	G	Minnesota Lynx	University of California in Los Angeles
5.	Tiffany Jackson	United States	F.	New York Liberty	University of Texas

Regular season

Closing tables

Abbreviations: Pl. = Place, Sp. = Games, S = wins, N = defeats, GB = games behind the leader of the conference

Explanations:     = Playoff qualification,     = Conference winner

Pl.	Eastern Conference	Sp.	S.	N	Wins in%	GB	home	Away
1.	Detroit Shock	34	24	10	70.6	-	12: 5	12: 5
2.	Indiana Fever	34	21st	13	61.8	3	12: 5	9: 8
3.	Connecticut Sun	34	18th	16	52.9	6th	8: 9	10: 7
4th	New York Liberty	34	16	18th	47.1	8th	10: 7	6:11
5.	Washington Mystics	34	16	18th	47.1	8th	8: 9	8: 9
6th	Chicago Sky	34	14th	20th	41.2	10	6:11	8: 9

Pl.	Western Conference	Sp.	S.	N	Wins in%	GB	home	Away
1.	Phoenix Mercury	34	23	11	67.6	-	12: 5	11: 6
2.	San Antonio Silver Stars	34	20th	14th	58.8	3	9: 8	11: 6
3.	Sacramento Monarchs	34	19th	15th	55.9	4th	12: 5	7:10
4th	Seattle Storm	34	17th	17th	50.0	6th	12: 5	5:12
5.	Houston Comets	34	13	21st	38.2	10	7:10	6:11
6th	Minnesota Lynx	34	10	24	29.4	13	7:10	3:14
7th	Los Angeles Sparks	34	10	24	29.4	13	5:12	5:12

All-Star Game 2007

• Main article: All-Star Game 2007

The 8th WNBA All-Star Game was played on July 13, 2007 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC . In January, the league leadership awarded the game to the Washington Mystics , who had already hosted it in 2002 . As in previous years, a selection of the best players from the Eastern Conference competed against a team from the Western Conference .

July 15, 2007		Western Conference 99, Eastern Conference 103			Verizon Center , Washington, DC Visitors: 19,487 Umpires: # 55 Brewton # 9 Brooks-Clauser # 7 Stevens
		Points per quarter: 28-23, 25-30, 14-25, 32-25
		Points: Thompson 19 rebounds: McWilliams-Franklin 9 assists: Taurasi 9		Points: Douglas 18 rebounds: Ford 13 assists: Beard 8

Playoffs

Playoff tree

	Conference semifinals					Conference Finals					WNBA finals
	1	Detroit Shock	2
	4th	New York Liberty	1
						1	Detroit Shock	2
	Eastern Conference
						2	Indiana Fever	1
	2	Indiana Fever	2
	3	Connecticut Sun	1
											E1	Detroit Shock	2
											W1	Phoenix Mercury	3
	1	Phoenix Mercury	2
	4th	Seattle Storm	0
						1	Phoenix Mercury	2
	Western Conference
						2	San Antonio Silver Stars	0
	2	San Antonio Silver Stars	2
	3	Sacramento Monarchs	1

Conference semifinals (round 1)

Eastern Conference

Detroit Shock (1) - New York Liberty (4)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
August 25	Detroit	51	73	new York
26th of August	new York	73	76	Detroit
August 28th	new York	70	71	Detroit	1OT
Detroit wins the series 2-1.

The duel between the Detroit Shock and New York Liberty , which was actually clear on paper , developed into a contested series that only failed in the decisive third game in favor of the Shock. In the first game there was a big surprise, the Liberty clearly won the first encounter with 73–51 points and even had an 18–0 run during the game. The Shock was very disappointing, especially because Detroit hadn't lost a game by more than 10 points in the regular season. The second game could just win the Shock with 76-73. In the third and decisive game, the Shock showed nerves and only scored 23 points by half time and were 10 points behind the Liberty. The shock recovered in the course of the game and were able to save the game in overtime. Two minutes before the end of the first extra time, the Liberty were five points ahead, but at that very moment the Shock showed their class and turned the game around.

Indiana Fever (2) - Connecticut Sun (3)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
August 24th	Indiana	88	93	Connecticut	3OT
August 25	Connecticut	59	78	Indiana
August 28th	Connecticut	88	93	Indiana	1OT
Indiana wins the series 2-1.

The Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun delivered a hard-fought and close series . The Fever ended the regular season better than the Sun, but the Sun won all four meetings with the Fever in the regular season. The first game of this series could not win the Sun, despite a 17 point lead in the third quarter, only in the third extension with 93-88. This was the first game in the history of the WNBA that could only be decided in the third extension. The Fever used their home advantage in the second game of this series and won this clearly with 78-59. In the last and decisive game, the Sun were able to take an early lead and even increased this to 22 points during the game. But the Fever did not give up and fought their way back and were able to win the game in extra time with 93-88. Thus, for the first time since the relocation, the Sun was eliminated in the conference semifinals.

Western Conference

Phoenix Mercury (1) - Seattle Storm (4)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
August 25	Phoenix	101	84	Seattle
26th of August	Seattle	89	95	Phoenix
Phoenix wins the series 2-0.

The Seattle Storms have not made it into the Conference Final since winning the WNBA Championship in 2004, and this year they failed to make the Conference Semifinals. This time they failed relatively clearly to the Phoenix Mercury who clearly dominated both games and had actually won both games at halftime. Even a strong performance by Lauren Jackson and Sue Bird in the last game wasn't enough to put the Mercury in trouble. Cappie Pondexter and Diana Taurasi scored at least 20 points in both games. In the second game, six Mercury players even scored at least 10 points.

San Antonio Silver Stars (2) - Sacramento Monarchs (3)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
August 24th	San Antonio	65	86	Sacramento
August 25	Sacramento	61	86	San Antonio
August 28th	Sacramento	78	80	San Antonio
San Antonio wins the series 2-1.

The San Antonio Silver Stars were able to qualify for the first time since the relocation for the playoffs, where they met the Sacramento Monarchs . Both teams clearly won their first home game. The third and decisive game was only decided in the last second. With 24 seconds left, Kara Lawson equalized with a jump shot to 78–78. In the last moment of the game Becky Hammon passed the ball to Vicki Johnson who decided the game and the series for the Silver Stars with a layup shot .

Conference Finals (Round 2)

Eastern Conference

Detroit Shock (1) - Indiana Fever (2)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
September 1	Detroit	65	75	Indiana
September 2nd	Indiana	63	77	Detroit
September 4th	Indiana	65	81	Detroit
Detroit wins the series 2-1.

The Detroit Shock had to go the entire distance against the Indiana Fever in the Conference Finals to win the series. After Detroit had lost the opening game in Indianapolis, they clearly won the following two games. The Shock had big problems with Tammy Sutton-Brown in the first game , who led the Fever to a 75-65 victory through her strong defensive performance (6 blocks). As in the Conference Semifinals, the Shock stood before the, but in the second game of the series the Shock played very big and had a 21-2 run in the first half and a 27-7 run in the second half. The Shock eventually won the game clearly 77-63. The outstanding player in the second game was Deanna Nolan with 24 points. The third game was balanced for a long time, but when Indiana Fever All-Star Tamika Catchings equalized to 30–30 in the second quarter, she injured her Achilles heel in this throw and could no longer play. Without catchings, the Fever lacked their main offensive power. The Shock therefore had no trouble winning the game and the series.

Western Conference

Phoenix Mercury (1) - San Antonio Silver Stars (2)
date	Away team		Home team		Note
August 30th	Phoenix	102	100	San Antonio
September 1	San Antonio	92	98	Phoenix
Phoenix wins the series 2-0.

The San Antonio Silver Stars stood for the first time since their relocation in the Western Conference Finals, where they only narrowly defeated the Phoenix Mercury in two thrilling games . In the first game, the Mercury led with 100–96 with 21 seconds remaining, an unfavorable foul by Taurasi brought the Silver Stars three free throws. Shanna Crossley hit all three free throws. After Taurasi had also lost the ball, the Silver Stars equalized two seconds before the end with a 3-point throw from Becky Hammon . However, Crossley committed an unnecessary foul on Pondexter, who used both free throws. In the last two seconds Crossley tried in vain to make up for her mistake with a 3-point throw from the center line. The Mercury only narrowly won the second game in the series. With 2:26 minutes to go, it was 84-84, after all, the Silver Stars made too many mistakes of their own, so that the Mercury could win the game in the end. The strongest player was probably Cappie Pondexter with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

Finals (round 3)

Phoenix Mercury (W1) - Detroit Shock (E1) date Away team Home team Note 5th September Phoenix 100 108 Detroit September 8th Phoenix 98 70 Detroit September 11 Detroit 88 83 Phoenix 13.september Detroit 76 77 Phoenix 16th September Phoenix 108 92 Detroit Phoenix wins the series 3-2. Cappie Pondexter has been named a Finals MVP. Finals MVP Cappie Pondexter and Diana Taurasi led the Mercury to their first WNBA championship. Pondexter averaged 22 points and 5.6 assists per game against the defending champions from Detroit in the finals. Phoenix and Detroit each won a home and away game. So there was an all-important fifth game in Detroit, which Phoenix won 108-92. This makes the Mercury the first team to win a championship in an away game.

Game 1

5th September	Summary	Phoenix Mercury 100, Detroit Shock 108			Palace of Auburn Hills , Detroit Visitors: 10,513 Umpires: # 22 Courteau # 38 Simpson # 55 Brewton
		Points per quarter: 21-18, 14-23, 32-28, 33-39
		Points: Taylor 32, Pondexter 27 Rebounds: Taylor 9 Assists: Taylor 7 Blocks: Smith 3		Points: Pierson 26, Smith 22 rebounds: Braxton 12, Pierson 10 assists: Johnson , Smith 4 steals: Taurasi 4

The Detroit Shock won the first game in this series against the fast-playing Phoenix Mercury, even though they had to do without All-Star MVP Cheryl Ford . The main strength of the Shock in this game were their substitutes. While the substitutes of the Mercury scored a total of 12 points, the two substitutes of the Shock Plenette Pierson and Kara Braxton already scored 45 points and 22 rebounds together. Another strength of the Shock was the rebound game. The Shock came to 48 rebounds in this game, the Mercury only to 30. Penny Taylor scored 32 points and Cappie Pondexter 27 for the Mercury, who had to do without All-Star Diana Taurasi for long stretches of the game because they had too many fouls in this one Game began. Taurasi never really got into the game and only got ten points in the end, in the first half Taurasi could not even use a throw. She scored nine of her ten points at the beginning of the third quarter.

Game 2

September 8th	Summary	Phoenix Mercury 98 , Detroit Shock 70			Palace of Auburn Hills , Detroit Visitors: 16,752 Umpires: # 30 Mattingly # 18 Walker # 39 Price
		Points per quarter: 25-17, 23-15, 31-19, 19-19
		Points: Taurasi 30 rebounds: Smith 10 assists: Miller , Pondexter , Smith 5 steals: Pondexter 3		Points: Nolan 12 rebounds: Braxton 9 assists: Johnson , Pierson 3 turnovers: Ford 4

Diana Taurasi led the Phoenix Mercury to a clear victory over the Detroit Shock after her poor performance in the first game of this series . Unlike the first game in the series, she committed few fouls and hit most of her throws, including seven throws from the 3-point range. At the end of the game, Taurasi had 30 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Even shock star Cheryl Ford , who returned to the team after her injury, couldn't stop Taurasi and the Mercury. Since the Mercury had already almost decided the game after three quarters, Corey Gaines spared his star players and almost only used substitutes. Shock coach Bill Laimbeer also spared one of his star players, Cheryl Ford.

Game 3

September 11	Summary	Detroit Shock 88 , Phoenix Mercury 83			US Airways Center , Phoenix Visitors: 12,024 Referees: # 10 Trammell # 8 Humphrey # 11 Napier
		Points per quarter: 30-23, 20-22, 20-19, 18-19
		Points: Smith 22, Nolan 20 rebounds: Ford 13, Nolan 11 assists: Nolan 6 steals: Smith 3		Points: Taurasi 22 rebounds: Taylor 14, Smith 12 assists: Miller 5 blocks: Smith 4

The Detroit Shock took over the lead in this game after a 3-point throw from the strong playing Deanna Nolan after 2:33 minutes and defended it until the end of the game. Nolan and Katie Smith scored for the Shock from almost everywhere on the field, while the Mercury hit only 34.7% of their throws, with Cappie Pondexter hitting just 5 of 15 throws ahead . Shortly before the end, the Mercury fought their way to the Shock again, but 1:53 minutes before the end Nolan turned a 3-point throw again and in the last moments in the game she also hit all free throws and thus secured the victory of the Shock in third game in this series.

Game 4

13.september	Summary	Detroit Shock 76, Phoenix Mercury 77			US Airways Center , Phoenix Visitors: 12,813 Referees: # 22 Courteau # 38 Simpson # 18 Walker
		Points per quarter: 12-17, 23-16, 25-24, 16-20
		Points: Pierson 23 rebounds: Ford 14 assists: Nolan 5 blocks: Nolan 3		Points: Pondexter 26, Taurasi 20 rebounds: Taylor 9 assists: Pondexter 5 steals: Miller 3

This game was probably the tightest and most exciting game in the entire series. There were 14 changes in leadership and seven times it was even a draw. The Shock were able to put pressure on the Mercury over the entire game due to the strong performance of their substitutes (especially Plenette Pierson ). But Cappie Pondexter and Diana Taurasi kept the Mercury in play. Together they scored 46 out of 77 for the Mercury. The game became very exciting in the final minutes. Pondexter put the Mercury in the lead 45 seconds before the end with a jump shot 75-74, but 34 seconds before the final whistle Deanna Nolan gave the Shock 76-75 lead. The Shock were WNBA champions for 13 seconds, then Pondexter put the Mercury back in the lead with a jump shot . The Shock still had the chance to win the game and thus the series, but Shannon Johnson could not use their throw attempt with the final siren.

Game 5

16th September	Summary	Phoenix Mercury 108 , Detroit Shock 92			Palace of Auburn Hills , Detroit Visitors: 22,076 Umpires: # 10 Trammell # 39 Price # 11 Napier
		Points per quarter: 30-17, 25-26, 24-21, 29-28
		Points: Taylor 30, Pondexter 26 Rebounds: Taurasi 7 Assists: Pondexter 10 FTM / A: Taylor 18/18		Points: Nolan 27 rebounds: Smith 6 assists: Johnson 8 steals: Pierson 4

In the all-important game of this series, the Mercury dominated the entire game. The Mercury took the lead after 31 seconds and did not give it up for the entire game. Detroit had big problems stopping the Mercury's fast game, especially in the first quarter. The 22,076 spectators failed to whip the Shock at the Mercury again. The strongest player in the game was Cappie Pondexter who led the Mercury to their first championship with a double-double with 26 points and 10 assists . At the end of the game, Cappie Pondexter was named the Finals MVP. The Mercury are the first team to win a WNBA championship in an away game.

WNBA championship team

(Participation in at least one playoff game)

WNBA Champion Phoenix Mercury

Guards: Jennifer Derevjanik , Kelly Miller , Kelly Mazzante , Cappie Pondexter (Finals MVP) ; Belinda Snell Forwards: Jennifer Lacy , Diana Taurasi , Penny Taylor-Gil Forward Centers: Kelly Schumacher , Tangela Smith Center: Olympia Scott Head Coach: Corey Gaines   General Manager: Ann Meyers

WNBA awards and trophies awarded

Award	Player	team
WNBA Finals MVP Award	Cappie Pondexter	Phoenix Mercury
WNBA Most Valuable Player Award	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm
WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Award	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm
WNBA Most Improved Player Award	Janel McCarville	New York Liberty
WNBA Peak Performer (points)	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm
WNBA Peak Performer (Rebounds)	Lauren Jackson	Seattle Storm
WNBA Peak Performer (Assists)	Becky Hammon	San Antonio Silver Stars
WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Award	Plenette Pierson	Detroit Shock
WNBA Rookie of the Year Award	Armintie Price	Chicago Sky
Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award	Tully Bevilaqua	Indiana Fever
WNBA Coach of the Year Award	Dan Hughes	San Antonio Silver Stars

All-WNBA teams

All-WNBA First Team
Guards:	Becky Hammon - Deanna Nolan
Forwards:	Diana Taurasi - Penny Taylor
Center:	Lauren Jackson

All-WNBA Second Team
Guards:	Katie Douglas - (MIN) Seimone Augustus
Forwards:	Tamika Catchings - Sophia Young
Center:	Tina Thompson

All-rookie team

All-rookie team

Armintie Price - Sidney Spencer - (MIN) Lindsey Harding Camille Little - Marta Fernandez

All-Defensive Team

All-Defensive First Team

Tamika Catchings - Lauren Jackson - Katie Douglas Alana Beard - Deanna Nolan

All-Defensive Second Team

Tully Bevilaqua - (SAC) Rebekkah Brunson - Margo Dydek (NYL) Loree Moore - (SAC) Chelsea Newton

Web links

• Final Standings 2007 on WNBA.com ( Memento from October 15, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
• WNBA Award Winners 2007 WNBA.com (Engl.)
• WNBA Playoffs 2007 WNBA.com (Engl.)
• Statistics for the WNBA 2007 season on basketball-reference.com (Engl.)
• Key dates in the WNBA history (Engl.)