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1997 Los Angeles Sparks season

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{WNBA season

| logo =

| team = Los Angeles Sparks

| year = 1997

| attendance = 8,931

| wins = 14

| losses = 14

| conf = Western

| conf_place = 2nd

| coach = Linda Sharp (fired Jul. 16, 4–7 record)
Julie Rousseau (10–7 record)

| arena = Great Western Forum

| playoffs = Did not qualify

| no_prevseason = True

}}

The 1997 WNBA season was the first season for the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sparks finished in second place in the Western Division with a record of 14 wins and 14 losses.

Transactions

=WNBA allocation draft=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:60em"

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="10%"| Player

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="10%"| Nationality

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="10%"| School/Team/Country

Lisa Leslie

| {{USA}}

| USC

Penny Toler

| {{USA}}

| Long Beach State

=WNBA elite draft=

{{see also|WNBA elite draft}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:60em"

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="2%"| Round

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="5%"| Pick

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="10%"| Player

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="10%"| Nationality

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="10%"| School/Team/Country

1

| 8

| Daedra Charles

| {{USA}}

| Tennessee

2

| 16

| Zheng Haixia

| {{China}}

| China

=WNBA draft=

{{see also|1997 WNBA draft}}

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; width:60em"

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="2%" | Round

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="5%" | Pick

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="10%" | Player

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="10%" | Nationality

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="10%" | School/Team/Country

1

| 3

| Jamila Wideman

| {{USA}}

| Stanford

2

| 14

| Tamecka Dixon

| {{USA}}

| Kansas

3

|19

|Katrina Colleton

|{{USA}}

|Maryland

4

|30

|Travesa Gant

|{{USA}}

|Lamar

=Transactions=

class="wikitable" style="width:80%; text-align: center;"

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width=125" |Date

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" colspan="2" |Transaction

January 22, 1997

| Drafted Lisa Leslie and Penny Toler in the 1997 WNBA Allocation Draft{{Cite web |title=1997 Los Angeles Sparks Transactions |url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/teams/LAS/1997_transactions.html |access-date=2024-05-24 |website=Basketball-Reference.com |language=en}}

February 27, 1997

| Drafted Daedra Charles and Zheng Haixia in the 1997 WNBA Elite Draft

April 16, 1997

|Hired Linda Sharp as Head Coach

April 28, 1997

| Drafted Jamila Wideman, Tamecka Dixon, Katrina Colleton and Travesa Gant in the 1997 WNBA Draft

rowspan="2" |July 16, 1997

|Fired Linda Sharp as Head Coach

Hired Julie Rousseau as Head Coach

Roster

{{sports roster

| team=Los Angeles Sparks

| season = 1997

| style = WNBA

| players =

{{sports roster/entry | num = 34 | first = Heidi | last = Burge | pos = F/C | ft = 6 | in = 5 | lbs = 185 | DOB = 1971-11-12 | yrs = R | college = Virginia | nat = USA}}

{{sports roster/entry | num = 42 | first = Linda | last = Burgess | link = 1997 Los Angeles Sparks | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 1 | lbs = 173 | DOB = 1967-07-27 | yrs = R | college = Alabama | nat = USA}}

{{sports roster/entry | num = 32 | first = Daedra | last = Charles | pos = F/C | ft = 6 | in = 3 | lbs = 225 | DOB = 1968-11-22 | yrs = R | college = Tennessee | nat = USA}}

{{sports roster/entry | num = 12 | first = Katrina | last = Colleton | pos = F | ft = 5 | in = 0 | lbs = 145 | DOB = 1968-10-14 | yrs = R | college = Maryland | nat = USA}}

{{sports roster/entry | num = 21 | first = Tamecka | last = Dixon | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 9 | lbs = 148 | DOB = 1975-12-14 | yrs = R | college = Kansas | nat = USA}}

{{sports roster/entry | num = 34 | first = Travesa | last = Gant | link = 1997 Los Angeles Sparks | pos = C | DOB = 1971-10-10 | yrs = R | college = Lamar | nat = USA}}

{{sports roster/entry | num = 43 | first = Kim | last = Gessig | link = 1997 Los Angeles Sparks | pos = F | ft = 6 | in = 3 | DOB = 1970-12-29 | yrs = R | college = USC | nat = USA}}

{{sports roster/entry | num = 9 | first = Lisa | last = Leslie | pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 5 | lbs = 170 | DOB = 1972-07-07 | yrs = R | college = USC | nat = USA}}

{{sports roster/entry | num = 4 | first = Mwadi | last = Mabika | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 11 | lbs = 165| DOB = 1976-07-27 | yrs = R | nat = Zaire}}

{{sports roster/entry | num = 11 | first = Penny | last = Toler | pos = G | ft = 5 | in = 8 | lbs = 132 | DOB = 1966-03-24 | yrs = R | college = Long Beach State | nat = USA}}

{{sports roster/entry | num = 10 | first = Jamila | last = Wideman | pos = F | ft = 5 | in = 6 | lbs = 135 | DOB = 1975-11-16 | yrs = R | college = Stanford | nat =USA}}

{{sports roster/entry | num = 28 | first = Haixia | last = Zheng| pos = C | ft = 6 | in = 8 | lbs = 254 | DOB = 1967-03-07 | yrs = R | nat = China}}

| head_coach =

{{sports roster/entry|nat=USA| first = Julie | last = Rousseau| college = UC Irvine}}

| asst_coach =

}}

Schedule

=Regular season=

{{WNBA game log start|Los Angeles Sparks|end_year=1997|note=
Total: 14–14 (Home: 8–6; Road: 6–8)}}

{{WNBA game log section|Los Angeles Sparks|June|first=yes

| home_wins = 2

| home_losses = 1

| road_wins = 0

| road_losses = 2

}}

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 1

| June 21

| New York

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199706210LAS.html L 57–67]

| Lisa Leslie (16)

| Lisa Leslie (14)

| Jamila Wideman (6)

| Great Western Forum

| 0–1

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 2

| June 23

| @ Utah

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199706230UTA.html L 89–102]

| Lisa Leslie (22)

| Lisa Leslie (10)

| Jamila Wideman (7)

| Delta Center

| 0–2

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 3

| June 25

| Charlotte

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199706250LAS.html W 74–54]

| Lisa Leslie (19)

| Leslie
Toler (5)

| Penny Toler (7)

| Great Western Forum

| 1–2

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 4

| June 27

| Sacramento

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199706270LAS.html W 102–92]

| Zheng Haixia (28)

| Zheng Haixia (10)

| Toler
Wideman (7)

| Great Western Forum

| 2–2

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 5

| June 30

| @ Houston

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199706300HOU.html L 66–71 (OT)]

| Lisa Leslie (21)

| Lisa Leslie (16)

| Penny Toler (5)

| The Summit

| 2–3

{{WNBA game log section|Los Angeles Sparks|July

| home_wins = 3

| home_losses = 3

| road_wins = 3

| road_losses = 4

}}

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 6

| July 2

| @ Cleveland

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707030CLE.html W 74–62]

| Lisa Leslie (19)

| Lisa Leslie (7)

| Jamila Wideman (6)

| Gund Arena

| 3–3

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 7

| July 5

| @ Charlotte

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707050CHA.html L 66–78]

| Lisa Leslie (16)

| Leslie
Toler (7)

| Jamila Wideman (6)

| Charlotte Coliseum

| 3–4

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 8

| July 7

| Cleveland

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707070LAS.html L 70–81]

| Lisa Leslie (22)

| Lisa Leslie (9)

| Jamila Wideman (8)

| Great Western Forum

| 3–5

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 9

| July 11

| Utah

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707110LAS.html W 75–68]

| Linda Burgess (20)

| Burge
Burgess (9)

| Leslie
Toler (6)

| Great Western Forum

| 4–5

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 10

| July 13

| Phoenix

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707130LAS.html L 56–57]

| Linda Burgess (12)

| Heidi Burge (11)

| Burge
Charles
Colleton
Dixon
Toler (2)

| Great Western Forum

| 4–6

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 11

| July 15

| @ Sacramento

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707150SAC.html L 73–78]

| Lisa Leslie (17)

| Burgess
Leslie (5)

| Penny Toler (10)

| ARCO Arena

| 4–7

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 12

| July 16

| Houston

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707160LAS.html W 77–52]

| Zheng Haixia (15)

| Lisa Leslie (10)

| Lisa Leslie (5)

| Great Western Forum

| 5–7

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 13

| July 19

| @ New York

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707190NYL.html L 57–69]

| Penny Toler (14)

| Lisa Leslie (7)

| Jamila Wideman (4)

| Madison Square Garden

| 5–8

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 14

| July 21

| @ Charlotte

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707210CHA.html L 64–75]

| Lisa Leslie (18)

| Penny Toler (8)

| Leslie
Toler (4)

| Charlotte Coliseum

| 5–9

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 15

| July 23

| Cleveland

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707230LAS.html L 85–89]

| Lisa Leslie (28)

| Lisa Leslie (13)

| Jamila Wideman (7)

| Great Western Forum

| 5–10

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 16

| July 25

| @ Phoenix

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707290HOU.html W 86–83]

| Lisa Leslie (17)

| Lisa Leslie (8)

| Toler
Wideman (4)

| America West Arena

| 6–10

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 17

| July 27

| @ Sacramento

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707270SAC.html W 84–62]

| Tamecka Dixon (20)

| Lisa Leslie (9)

| Penny Toler (9)

| ARCO Arena

| 7–10

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 18

| July 30

| Utah

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199707300LAS.html W 91–69]

| Lisa Leslie (23)

| Lisa Leslie (11)

| Lisa Leslie (7)

| Great Western Forum

| 8–10

|

{{WNBA game log section|Los Angeles Sparks|August

| home_wins = 3

| home_losses = 2

| road_wins = 3

| road_losses = 2

}}

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 19

| August 1

| Houston

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199708010LAS.html L 57–81]

| Penny Toler (17)

| Lisa Leslie (6)

| Penny Toler (3)

| Great Western Forum

| 8–11

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 20

| August 3

| Charlotte

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199708030LAS.html L 70–77]

| Penny Toler (19)

| Lisa Leslie (10)

| Penny Toler (7)

| Great Western Forum

| 8–12

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 21

| August 5

| @ New York

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199708050NYL.html W 67–50]

| Dixon
Toler (16)

| Lisa Leslie (14)

| Penny Toler (3)

| Madison Square Garden

| 9–12

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 22

| August 7

| @ Cleveland

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199708070CLE.html W 87–84]

| Tamecka Dixon (23)

| Lisa Leslie (14)

| Lisa Leslie (5)

| Gund Arena

| 10–12

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 23

| August 9

| @ Houston

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199708090HOU.html L 71–72]

| Tamecka Dixon (21)

| Zheng Haixia (7)

| Penny Toler (4)

| The Summit

| 10–13

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 24

| August 16

| @ Utah

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199708160UTA.html W 74–64]

| Lisa Leslie (23)

| Lisa Leslie (12)

| Penny Toler (8)

| Delta Center

| 11–13

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 25

| August 18

| Phoenix

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199708180LAS.html W 75–66]

| Lisa Leslie (26)

| Lisa Leslie (15)

| Penny Toler (8)

| Great Western Forum

| 12–13

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 26

| August 20

| New York

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199708200LAS.html W 78–76]

| Penny Toler (17)

| Zheng Haixia (9)

| Penny Toler (6)

| Great Western Forum

| 13–13

|- style="background:#bbffbb;"

| 27

| August 22

| Sacramento

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199708220LAS.html W 88–77]

| Zheng Haixia (21)

| Lisa Leslie (12)

| Penny Toler (8)

| Great Western Forum

| 14–13

|- style="background:#fcc;"

| 28

| August 24

| @ Phoenix

| [https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/boxscores/199708240PHO.html L 68–73]

| Tamecka Dixon (25)

| Lisa Leslie (14)

| Penny Toler (4)

| America West Arena

| 14–14

{{WNBA game log end|las|end_year=1997}}

=Season standings=

{{1997 WNBA Western Conference standings|team=LAS}}

Statistics

{{WNBA roster statistics legend}}

=Regular Season=

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="6%" | Player

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="6%" | GP

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="6%" | GS

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="6%" | MPG

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="6%" | FG%

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="6%" | 3P%

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="6%" | FT%

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="6%" | RPG

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="5%" | APG

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="6%" | SPG

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="6%" | BPG

! style="{{WNBA color cell|Los Angeles Sparks}}" width="6%" | PPG

Penny Toler

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 28

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 28

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 32.4

| .426

| .184

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| .839

| 3.4

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 5.1

| 1.3

| 0.1

| 13.1

Lisa Leslie

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 28

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 28

| 32.2

| .431

| .261

| .598

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 9.5

| 2.6

| 1.4

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 2.1

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 15.9

Tamecka Dixon

| 27

| 21

| 26.5

| .456

| .423

| .773

| 3.0

| 2.0

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 1.8

| 0.2

| 11.9

Jamila Wideman

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 28

| 14

| 22.6

| .236

| .194

| .794

| 2.0

| 3.7

| 0.9

| 0.0

| 3.0

Katrina Colleton

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 28

| 14

| 21.9

| .437

| .360

| .567

| 2.1

| 1.6

| 1.3

| 0.3

| 4.9

Zheng Haixia

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 28

| 21

| 19.9

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| .618

| N/A

| .661

| 4.4

| 0.6

| 0.4

| 0.7

| 9.3

Linda Burgess

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 28

| 6

| 17.6

| .541

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| .500

| .735

| 4.2

| 0.3

| 0.7

| 0.5

| 6.5

Mwadi Mabika

| 21

| 1

| 15.5

| .390

| .184

| .542

| 2.6

| 1.0

| 1.1

| 0.3

| 6.0

Heidi Burge

| 22

| 6

| 12.8

| .444

| .000

| .511

| 3.1

| 0.7

| 0.5

| 0.5

| 4.0

Daedra Charles

| style="background:#D3D3D3;"| 28

| 1

| 10.1

| .403

| .000

| .667

| 1.7

| 0.4

| 0.4

| 0.4

| 2.3

Travesa Gant

| 2

| 0

| 6.5

| .000

| N/A

| N/A

| 1.5

| 0.0

| 0.0

| 0.0

| 0.0

Kim Gessig

| 1

| 0

| 4.0

| N/A

| N/A

| N/A

| 1.0

| 0.0

| 0.0

| 0.0

| 0.0


‡Waived/Released during the season


†Traded during the season


≠Acquired during the season

  • Tamecka Dixon was tied for tenth in the WNBA in steals with 49.
  • Tamecka Dixon ranked tenth in the WNBA in Field Goal Percentage (.456)
  • Lisa Leslie ranked third in the WNBA in points with 445 points.
  • Lisa Leslie ranked third in the WNBA in points per game with 15.9
  • Lisa Leslie ranked fifth in the WNBA in field goals with 160.
  • Lisa Leslie ranked first in the WNBA in total rebounds with 266.
  • Lisa Leslie ranked second in the WNBA in blocks with 59.
  • Penny Toler ranked tenth in the WNBA in points with 368 points.
  • Penny Toler ranked eighth in the WNBA in field goals with 144.
  • Penny Toler ranked tenth in the WNBA in points per game with 13.1{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/years/1997.html|title=1997 WNBA Season Summary}}
  • Penny Toler ranked sixth in the WNBA in Free Throw Pct with .839
  • Penny Toler ranked second in the WNBA in assists with 143.
  • Jamila Wideman ranked seventh in the WNBA in assists with 103.
  • Haixia Zheng ranked ninth in the WNBA in blocks with 20.

Awards and honors

  • Lisa Leslie, Center, All WNBA First Team {{cite web|url=http://www.wnba.com/history/awards_1997.html |title=Postseason Awards: 1997 |publisher=WNBA.com |date= |accessdate=2022-09-04}}
  • Lisa Leslie: Led WNBA, Defensive Rebounds, 203
  • Lisa Leslie: Led WNBA, Total Rebounds, 266
  • Lisa Leslie: Led WNBA, Rebounds per game, 9.5
  • Lisa Leslie ranked second in the WNBA with 2.1 blocks per game.
  • Lisa Leslie ranked third in the WNBA with 113 Free Throws.
  • Haixia Zheng, WNBA Peak Performer
  • Haixia Zheng, Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award
  • Haixia Zheng: Led WNBA, Field Goal Percentage, .618

References

{{reflist}}

[https://www.basketball-reference.com/wnba/teams/LAS/1997.html Sparks on Basketball Reference]

{{1997 WNBA season by team}}

{{Los Angeles Sparks navbox}}

Category:Los Angeles Sparks seasons

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