1997 - 98
1997 - 1998 Final Standings:
Eastern Conference
|
Wins |
Losses |
Pct. |
G.B. |
|
|
Columbus |
36 |
8 |
.818 |
-- |
|
New England |
24 |
20 |
.545 |
12 |
|
Atlanta |
15 |
29 |
.341 |
21 |
| Philadelphia |
13 |
30 |
.302 |
22.5 |
Western Conference
|
Wins |
Losses |
Pct. |
G.B. |
|
|
Portland |
27 |
16 |
.628 |
-- |
|
Long Beach |
25 |
18 |
.581 |
2 |
|
San Jose |
21 |
22 |
.488 |
6 |
| Colorado |
20 |
23 |
.465 |
7 |
| Seattle |
14 |
29 |
.326 |
13 |
1998 League Awards:
1998
MVP - Natalie Williams, Portland Power
1998 Coach of the Year - Lin Dunn, Portland Power
1998 Defensive Player of the Year - Yolanda Griffith, Long Beach StingRays
1998
Rookie of the Year - Shalonda Enis, Seattle Reign
ABL - FIRST TEAM
- Teresa Edwards, Atlanta
- Yolanda Griffith, Long Beach
- Carolyn Jones, New England
- Katie Smith, Columbus
- Natalie Williams, Portland
ABL
- SECOND TEAM
- Jennifer Azzi, San Jose
- Shalonda Enis, Seattle
- Adrienne Goodson, Philadelphia
- Dawn Staley, Philadelphia
- Valerie Still, Columbus
2nd ABL All-Star Game:
Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex
Eastern Conference
|
Western Conference
|
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On January 18 the ABL staged their second All-Star Game, won by the West, 102-73, at the Walt Disney Wide World of Sports complex. The game, and the much-hyped Slam Dunk Contest, won by Sylvia Crawley with a blindfolded dunk, were televised by Fox Sports. As I noted at the time, the pandering by the broadcast team (Tracy Warren and Debbie Antonelli) made the telecast sound less like professional basketball and more like professional wrestling.
Stats Leaders:
SCORING LEADERS
PLAYER GP PTS AVG ------ -- --- --- Natalie Williams, POR 44 964 21.9 Carolyn Jones, NWE 44 963 21.9 Teresa Edwards, ATL 44 899 20.4 Yolanda Griffith, LON 44 827 18.8 Shalonda Enis, SEA 42 754 18.0 Adrienne Goodson, PHI 43 761 17.7 Katie Smith, COQ 44 764 17.4 Val Whiting, SEA 42 645 15.4 Crystal Robinson, COL 43 642 14.9 Jennifer Azzi, SAN 44 651 14.8 Sheri Sam, SAN 43 624 14.5 Tonya Edwards, COQ 38 541 14.2 Stacey Lovelace, ATL 44 616 14.0 Edna Campbell, COL 44 613 13.9 Tari Phillips, COL 44 610 13.9 Dawn Staley, PHI 44 582 13.2 Valerie Still, COQ 44 578 13.1 Kate Starbird, SEA 44 557 12.7 Katrina McClain, ATL 33 414 12.6 Elaine Powell, POR 44 539 12.3 Charlotte Smith, SAN 42 513 12.2 Clarissa Davis, LON 44 522 11.9 Beverly Williams, LON 44 505 11.5 Shannon Johnson, COQ 44 484 11.0 Jennifer Rizzotti, NWE 44 477 10.8 Taj McWilliams, PHI 44 471 10.7 Venus Lacy, LON 41 420 10.2 Vicki Hall, COL 41 418 10.2 Saudia Roundtree, ATL 23 231 10.0
REBOUNDING LEADERS
(MINIMUM OF 19 GAMES PLAYED OR 399 REBOUNDS) PLAYER GP REB AVG ------ -- --- --- Natalie Williams, POR 44 508 11.6 Yolanda Griffith, LON 44 493 11.2 Adrienne Goodson, PHI 43 376 8.7 Tari Phillips, COL 44 360 8.2 Taj McWilliams, PHI 44 356 8.1 Katrina Mcclain, ATL 33 258 7.8 Shalonda Enis, SEA 42 321 7.6 Val Whiting, SEA 42 303 7.2 Valerie Still, COQ 44 316 7.2 Sheri Sam, SAN 43 305 7.1 Dale Hodges, NWE 44 297 6.8 Venus Lacy, LON 41 266 6.5 Teresa Edwards, ATL 44 283 6.4 Charlotte Smith, SAN 42 252 6.0 Stacey Lovelace, ATL 44 235 5.3 Kara Wolters, NWE 44 228 5.2 Vicki Hall, COL 41 212 5.2 Delisha Milton, POR 44 217 4.9 Shanda Berry, NWE 44 213 4.8 Shannon Johnson, COQ 44 210 4.8
ASSISTS LEADERS
(MINIMUM OF 19 GAMES PLAYED OR 190 ASSISTS) PLAYER GP AST AVG ------ -- --- --- Teresa Edwards, ATL 44 293 6.7 Dawn Staley, PHI 44 286 6.5 Andrea Nagy, LON 44 273 6.2 Debbie Black, COL 44 268 6.1 Jennifer Azzi, SAN 44 219 5.0 Shannon Johnson, COQ 44 215 4.9 Jennifer Rizzotti, NWE 44 193 4.4 Falisha Wright, POR 34 128 3.8 Elaine Powell, POR 44 164 3.7 Crystal Robinson, COL 43 146 3.4 Kate Paye, SEA 44 145 3.3 Kate Starbird, SEA 44 135 3.1 Beverly Williams, LON 44 135 3.1 Niesa Johnson, LON 44 125 2.8 Sonja Tate, COQ 44 120 2.7 Sheri Sam, SAN 43 109 2.5 Edna Campbell, COL 44 109 2.5 Katie Smith, COQ 44 108 2.5 Nicky McCrimmon, ATL 32 76 2.4 Adrienne Goodson, PHI 43 98 2.3
STEALS LEADERS
(MINIMUM OF 19 GAMES PLAYED OR 57 STEALS) PLAYER GP STL AVG ------ -- --- --- Yolanda Griffith, LON 44 138 3.1 Teresa Edwards, ATL 44 118 2.7 Debbie Black, COL 44 109 2.5 Valerie Still, COQ 44 101 2.3 Val Whiting, SEA 42 94 2.2 Dawn Staley, PHI 44 98 2.2 Kedra Holland-Corn, SAN 43 96 2.2 Jennifer Rizzotti, NWE 44 89 2.0 Natalie Williams, POR 44 89 2.0 Sheri Sam, SAN 43 87 2.0 Shannon Johnson, COQ 44 87 2.0 Elaine Powell, POR 44 84 1.9 Jennifer Azzi, SAN 44 81 1.8 Carolyn Jones, NWE 44 81 1.8 Falisha Wright, POR 34 60 1.8 Andrea Lloyd, COQ 44 75 1.7 Crystal Robinson, COL 43 71 1.7 Tari Phillips, COL 44 72 1.6 Beverly Williams, LON 44 67 1.5 Delisha Milton, POR 44 66 1.5
BLOCKED SHOTS LEADERS
(MINIMUM OF 19 GAMES PLAYED OR 57 BLOCKED SHOTS) PLAYER GP BLK AVG ------ -- --- --- Kara Wolters, NWE 44 64 1.5 Yolanda Griffith, LON 44 59 1.3 Katrina McClain, ATL 33 39 1.2 Natalie Williams, POR 44 50 1.1 Taj McWilliams, PHI 44 42 1.0 Tracy Henderson, ATL 37 34 0.9 Stacey Lovelace, ATL 44 35 0.8 Tari Phillips, COL 44 35 0.8 Val Whiting, SEA 42 32 0.8 Venus Lacy, LON 41 27 0.7 Kate Starbird, SEA 44 22 0.5 Valerie Still, COQ 44 21 0.5 Shanda Berry, NWE 44 19 0.4 Charlotte Smith, SAN 42 18 0.4 Joy Holmes, SEA 44 18 0.4 Delisha Milton, POR 44 18 0.4 Sylvia Crawley, POR 43 17 0.4 Edna Campbell, COL 44 17 0.4 Vicki Hall, COL 41 15 0.4 Karen Deden, NWE 44 16 0.4 Katy Steding, POR 39 14 0.4
FIELD GOAL % LEADERS
(MINIMUM OF 152 FIELD GOALS MADE) PLAYER GP FGM FGA PCT ------ -- --- --- --- Clarisse Machanguana, SAN 44 153 264 .580 Natalie Williams, POR 44 351 633 .555 Yolanda Griffith, LON 44 310 573 .541 Kara Wolters, NWE 44 169 316 .535 Tracy Henderson, ATL 37 156 296 .527 Crystal Robinson, COL 43 224 429 .522 Tari Phillips, COL 44 247 492 .502 Delisha Milton, POR 44 163 326 .500 Venus Lacy, LON 41 169 341 .496 Adrienne Goodson, PHI 43 288 582 .495 Charlotte Smith, SAN 42 187 383 .488 Taj McWilliams, PHI 44 173 358 .483 Lakeshia Frett, PHI 44 160 338 .473 Carolyn Jones, NWE 44 296 631 .469 Shalonda Enis, SEA 42 244 524 .466
3 POINT FIELD GOAL % LEADERS
(MINIMUM OF 19 THREE POINT FIELD GOALS MADE) PLAYER GP 3FG 3FA PCT ------ -- --- --- --- Crystal Robinson, COL 43 102 219 .466 Vicki Hall, COL 41 35 84 .417 Carolyn Jones, NWE 44 65 158 .411 Molly Goodenbour, POR 39 49 120 .408 Andrea Nagy, LON 44 24 59 .407 Shalonda Enis, SEA 42 52 129 .403 Katie Smith, COQ 44 87 217 .401 Edna Campbell, COL 44 67 167 .401 Sheri Sam, SAN 43 50 127 .394 Dawn Staley, PHI 44 111 288 .385 Shelley Sandie, SAN 44 20 52 .385 Beth Morgan, PHI 44 56 146 .384 Elaine Powell, POR 44 41 107 .383 Kate Starbird, SEA 44 51 135 .378 Falisha Wright, POR 34 33 88 .375
FREE THROW % LEADERS
(MINIMUM OF 57 FREE THROWS MADE) PLAYER GP FTM FTA PCT ------ -- --- --- --- Shelley Sandie, SAN 44 61 68 .897 Katie Smith, COQ 44 191 214 .893 Lakeshia Frett, PHI 44 104 120 .867 Teresa Edwards, ATL 44 217 253 .858 Carolyn Jones, NWE 44 306 357 .857 Cass Bauer, LON 44 78 91 .857 Jennifer Azzi, SAN 44 196 230 .852 Edna Campbell, COL 44 80 94 .851 Kate Starbird, SEA 44 128 151 .848 Tonya Edwards, COQ 38 109 130 .838 Clarissa Davis, LON 44 66 79 .835 Debbie Black, COL 44 62 75 .827 Katrina McClain, ATL 33 129 157 .822 Dale Hodges, NWE 44 101 123 .821 Kate Paye, SEA 44 78 95 .821
ATTENDANCE REPORT (through 2/5/98)
Home Home Home Road Road Road
Team Dates Att. Avg. Dates Att. Avg. Total
NEW ENGLAND 20 175,329 8,766 20 80,478 4,024 255,807
PORTLAND 21 110,695 5,271 19 61,733 3,249 172,428
SAN JOSE 20 95,904 4,795 20 83,251 4,163 179,155
ATLANTA 19 71,681 3,773 19 94,954 4,998 166,635
COLORADO 19 70,495 3,710 20 80,789 4,039 151,284
COLUMBUS 19 64,861 3,414 20 91,995 4,600 156,856
SEATTLE 19 62,061 3,266 19 101,631 5,349 163,692
PHILADELPHIA 18 58,432 3,246 21 88,743 4,226 147,175
LONG BEACH 20 40,537 2,027 17 66,241 3,897 106,778
Total ABL attendance: 749,905
Average ABL attendance: 4,285
TEAM HIGHS & LOWS
CATEGORY STAT TEAM OPP DATE
Most points, Game 111 COQ vs LON 02/15/98
Fewest points, Game 45 SEA at POR 10/16/97
Most rebounds, Game 51 LON at SAN 10/24/97
Fewest rebounds, Game 19 NWE at ATL 01/27/98
Most free throws made, Game 37 COQ vs NWE 01/02/98
Fewest free throws made, Game 3 POR at NWE 10/29/97
3 POR vs PHI 12/21/97
Most free throw attempts, Game 51 LON vs SAN 10/17/97
Fewest free throw attempts, Game 3 POR at NWE 10/29/97
Most field goals made, Game 44 LON at PHI 02/17/98
Fewest field goals made, Game 14 COQ at NWE 11/16/97
14 PHI at COQ 01/09/98
14 SEA at POR 11/01/97
Most field goal attempts, Game 85 SAN vs ATL 11/23/97
Fewest field goal attempts, Game 40 NWE at COQ 11/23/97
Most 3 pt field goals made, Game 13 COQ vs ATL 11/01/97
Most 3 pt field goal attempts, Game 29 COQ at NWE 10/19/97
29 COQ at ATL 11/09/97
Best field goal pctg., Game .673 SAN at COL 11/01/97
Worst field goal pctg., Game .275 COQ at NWE 11/16/97
Most turnovers, Game 33 SEA at ATL 01/24/98
Fewest turnovers, Game 5 POR vs COL 11/16/97
Most fouls, Game 38 SAN at LON 10/17/97
Fewest fouls, Game 8 PHI at POR 12/21/97
Most assists, Game 32 COL vs SAN 11/20/97
Most steals, Game 19 SAN at ATL 11/16/97
Most blocks, Game 9 POR at COL 11/09/97
9 POR vs LON 01/22/98
9 SEA at SAN 10/15/97
Longest winning streak 13 COQ 12/28/97 through 02/05/98
Longest losing streak 10 SEA 11/29/97 through 12/28/97
INDIVIDUAL HIGHS & LOWS
CATEGORY STAT NAME TEAM OPP DATE
Minutes played, Game 46 Natalie Williams POR at SEA 12/14/97
Minutes, Season 1674 Dawn Staley PHI
Points scored, Game 46 Teresa Edwards ATL at SEA 11/21/97
Shots, Game 27 Teresa Edwards ATL at SEA 11/21/97
Shots made, Game 16 Teresa Edwards ATL at SEA 11/21/97
Free throws, Game 20 Carolyn Jones NWE vs COL 01/03/98
Free throws made, Game 19 Carolyn Jones NWE vs COL 01/03/98
3pt shots, Game 13 Teresa Edwards ATL at PHI 10/19/97
13 Teresa Edwards ATL at PHI 11/07/97
13 Teresa Edwards ATL at POR 11/22/97
3pt shots made, Game 7 Dawn Staley PHI at ATL 10/28/97
Total rebounds, Game 21 Natalie Williams POR vs LON 01/22/98
Off. rebounds, Game 14 Valerie Still COQ vs ATL 12/06/97
Def. rebounds, Game 14 Yolanda Griffith LON at COL 10/18/97
14 Kara Wolters NWE at PHI 11/21/97
14 Natalie Williams POR vs LON 01/22/98
Assists, Game 14 Debbie Black COL vs SAN 11/20/97
Steals, Game 10 Valerie Still COQ vs ATL 12/17/97
Blocks, Game 6 Tracy Henderson ATL at POR 01/03/98
Personal fouls, Season 179 Yolanda Griffith LON
Games DQ'd, Season 8 Yolanda Griffith LON
TEAM COMPARISON
POINTS FIELD GOAL 3-PT FG
PER GAME PERCENTAGE PERCENTAGE TURNOVERS PER GAME
TEAM OWN OPP OWN OPP OWN OPP OWN OPP MARGIN
ATLANTA 75.6 81.4 .437 .440 .284 .357 19.1 16.6 -2.5
COLORADO 73.4 74.3 .440 .448 .396 .338 17.8 19.5 +1.7
COLUMBUS 80.0 67.5 .428 .431 .350 .332 15.0 22.2 +7.2
LONG BEACH 80.2 77.8 .449 .445 .337 .343 19.3 19.0 -0.3
NEW ENGLAND 75.9 75.6 .453 .428 .337 .336 19.4 17.8 -1.6
PHILADELPHIA 73.6 79.5 .431 .454 .341 .382 19.0 16.6 -2.4
PORTLAND 71.8 70.5 .450 .433 .360 .346 19.0 18.8 -0.2
SAN JOSE 77.8 77.0 .457 .429 .348 .331 19.3 19.0 -0.3
SEATTLE 74.0 78.3 .422 .457 .352 .336 20.5 18.8 -1.7
------------------ RECORDS ------------------
UNDER 100 PTS OT DECIDED BY
REBOUND PCT OWN OPP GAMES 3-PTS(LESS) 10-PTS(MORE)
TEAM OFF DEF TOT W-L W-L W-L W-L W-L
ATLANTA .320 .652 .493 15-29 15-26 1-2 1-5 5-15
COLORADO .333 .635 .477 20-23 21-23 0-0 5-5 11-10
COLUMBUS .367 .689 .514 32-8 36-8 3-0 2-2 29-3
LONG BEACH .419 .670 .542 24-18 26-17 0-3 2-5 14-8
NEW ENGLAND .323 .661 .502 24-20 24-19 2-1 2-2 10-13
PHILADELPHIA .331 .660 .497 12-31 13-29 0-1 3-1 4-18
PORTLAND .374 .655 .514 27-17 27-17 5-0 10-5 6-6
SAN JOSE .336 .617 .482 21-23 21-22 1-4 1-1 11-8
SEATTLE .342 .616 .479 15-29 15-29 0-1 3-3 7-16
= Indicates League Leader
REBOUND PERCENTAGE:
Off - a team's offensive rebounds divided by offensive rebound
opportunities (that team's total number of missed shots)
Def - a team's defensive rebounds divided by defensive rebound
opportunities (the total number of missed shots by that
team's opponents)
Tot - a team's total rebounds divided by rebound opportunities
(the sum of missed shots by that team and its opponents)
TEAM-BY-TEAM STATS
OFFENSE
TEAM G FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT AVG
LONG BEACH 44 1291-2875 .449 146-433 .337 800-1072 .746 80.2
COLUMBUS 44 1170-2734 .428 272-778 .350 909-1155 .787 80.0
SAN JOSE 44 1220-2667 .457 178-511 .348 801-1105 .725 77.7
NEW ENGLAND 44 1158-2554 .453 141-418 .337 881-1132 .778 75.9
ATLANTA 44 1190-2719 .438 183-643 .285 766-950 .806 75.7
SEATTLE 44 1098-2601 .422 230-653 .352 829-1095 .757 74.0
PHILADELPHIA 44 1147-2663 .431 255-748 .341 688-913 .754 73.6
COLORADO 44 1218-2771 .440 250-631 .396 542-790 .686 73.4
PORTLAND 44 1162-2581 .450 184-511 .360 649-897 .724 71.8
- REBOUNDS -
OFF-DEF TRB AST STL TO BLKS
LONG BEACH 636-974 1610 739 438 848 122
COLUMBUS 556-883 1439 759 482 661 70
SAN JOSE 485-963 1448 677 455 847 80
NEW ENGLAND 431-996 1427 696 409 853 118
ATLANTA 456-1004 1460 651 377 841 151
SEATTLE 491-885 1376 618 421 901 102
PHILADELPHIA 477-967 1444 663 368 838 101
COLORADO 502-874 1376 766 421 782 117
PORTLAND 521-908 1429 724 431 835 127
DEFENSE
TEAM G FGM-FGA PCT 3PM-3PA PCT FTM-FTA PCT AVG
COLUMBUS 44 989-2293 .431 182-549 .332 810-1044 .776 67.5
PORTLAND 44 1102-2543 .433 161-465 .346 739-979 .755 70.6
COLORADO 44 1158-2587 .448 179-529 .338 773-1051 .735 74.3
NEW ENGLAND 44 1153-2695 .428 236-702 .336 785-1044 .752 75.6
SAN JOSE 44 1211-2823 .429 196-591 .332 774-1043 .742 77.1
LONG BEACH 44 1183-2658 .445 205-597 .343 852-1145 .744 77.8
SEATTLE 44 1278-2795 .457 186-553 .336 704-918 .767 78.3
PHILADELPHIA 44 1286-2831 .454 245-642 .382 682-878 .777 79.5
ATLANTA 44 1294-2940 .440 249-698 .357 746-1007 .741 81.4
- REBOUNDS -
OFF-DEF TRB AST STL TO BLKS
COLUMBUS 399-959 1358 619 326 976 119
PORTLAND 478-871 1349 618 443 826 113
COLORADO 503-1006 1509 699 387 856 111
NEW ENGLAND 511-904 1415 720 433 783 108
SAN JOSE 597-950 1547 737 462 837 133
LONG BEACH 479-881 1360 695 385 838 116
SEATTLE 551-945 1496 709 505 828 103
PHILADELPHIA 498-966 1464 792 415 729 113
ATLANTA 539-972 1511 704 446 733 72
(NOTE: DEFENSIVE STATISTICS REFLECT CUMULATIVE TOTALS OF A
TEAM'S OPPONENTS)
1998 Playoffs:
|
San Jose - 2 games New England - 0 games |
Columbus - 3 games San Jose - 0 games |
Columbus - 3 games Long Beach - 2 games 1996-97 ABL Champions |
|
Long Beach - 2 games Colorado- 0 games |
Long Beach - 2 games Portland - 0 games |
In the opening rounds, San Jose swept New England by winning a squeaker, 80-78, in Hartford and then winning easily at home, 83-71. Colorado and Long Beach each won easily at home; Long Beach took the rubber match, also at home, 92-61.
In
the Semifinals, the StingRay beat the Power in Long Beach, 72-62, and
then won a nail-biter on Venus Lacy's layup on an inbounds play with 1.9
left. The Columbus Quest, despite a slow start in the first game, took
both games from San Jose.
The Championship series opened in Long Beach, where the StingRay won both games; the first was a 65-62 defensive contest; the second game seesawed back-and-forth until the final five minutes, when the foul-troubled Quest defense crumbled and the StingRay pulled ahead for a 71-61 victory.
The series moved to Columbus, where the Quest won the first game 7-61, then evened the series in a game in which the StingRay shot badly; the Quest recorded a 68-53 win. The final game, played March 15 at Columbus, was the best played game of the playoffs, if not of the season. Valerie Still, who was named series MVP, led the Quest with 25 points; Katie Smith scored 19, Sonja Tate 15, amd Tonya Edwards 12. The Quest had a solid lead going into the fourth quarter and hung on for the 86-81victory. The challenge mounted by the StingRay in the final quarter added much excitement.