1998 Cleveland Rockers season

The 1998 WNBA season was the 2nd for the Cleveland Rockers. The Rockers topped the Eastern Conference, but they were unable to reach the WNBA Finals, losing in the WNBA semifinals to the Phoenix Mercury.

1998 Cleveland Rockers season
CoachLinda Hill-MacDonald
ArenaGund Arena
Attendance10,350 per game
Results
Record20–10 (.667)
Place1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishLost WNBA Semifinals (2-1) to Phoenix Mercury
Team Leaders
PointsIsabelle Fijalkowski (13.7)
ReboundsIsabelle Fijalkowski (6.9)
AssistsSuzie McConnell Serio (6.4)

Transactions

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Detroit Shock expansion draft

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The following player was selected in the Detroit Shock expansion draft from the Cleveland Rockers:

Player Nationality School/Team/Country
Lynette Woodard   United States Kansas

WNBA draft

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Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 6 Cindy Blodgett   United States Maine
2 16 Suzie McConnell Serio   United States Penn State
3 26 Tanja Kostić   Sweden Oregon State
4 36 Tammye Jenkins   United States Georgia

Transactions

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Date Transaction
February 18, 1998 Lost Lynette Woodard to the Detroit Shock in the WNBA expansion draft[1]
April 29, 1998 Drafted Cindy Blodgett, Suzie McConnell Serio, Tanja Kostić and Tammye Jenkins in the 1998 WNBA Draft[1]

Roster

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1998 Cleveland Rockers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
G 41   Bevilaqua, Tully 5' 7" (1.7m) 145 lb (66kg) 1972-07-19 R
G 5   Blodgett, Cindy 5' 9" (1.75m) 130 lb (59kg) 1975-12-23 Maine R
F 8   Braxton, Janice 6' 3" (1.91m) 178 lb (81kg) 1962-06-07 Louisiana Tech 1
F 34   Brown, Rushia 6' 2" (1.88m) 175 lb (79kg) 1972-05-05 Furman 1
G 44   Edwards, Michelle 5' 9" (1.75m) 150 lb (68kg) 1966-03-06 Iowa 1
F/C 13   Fijalkowski, Isabelle 6' 5" (1.96m) 200 lb (91kg) 1972-05-23 Colorado 1
G 31   Johnson, Adrienne 5' 10" (1.78m) 154 lb (70kg) 1974-02-05 Ohio State 1
G 25   Jones, Merlakia 5' 10" (1.78m) 147 lb (67kg) 1973-06-21 Florida 1
F 10   Kostić, Tanja 6' 2" (1.88m) 163 lb (74kg) 1972-11-10 Oregon State R
G 4   McConnell-Serio, Suzie  – 1966-07-29 Penn State R
F 6   Němcová, Eva 6' 3" (1.91m) 178 lb (81kg) 1972-12-03 1
F/C 51   Scott, Raegan 6' 3" (1.91m) 169 lb (77kg) 1975-08-12 Colorado 1
Head coach
  Linda Hill-MacDonald (West Chester)
Assistant coaches
  Mike Wilhelm




Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

Schedule

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Regular season

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1998 game log
Total: 20–10 (Home: 11–4; Road: 9–6)
June: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2)
July : 8–6 (Home: 6–2; Road: 2–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
8 July 1 @ Washington W 92–80 Isabelle Fijalkowski (19) Isabelle Fijalkowski (8) Suzie McConnell-Serio (4) MCI Center 5–3
9 July 2 Phoenix L 61–76 Isabelle Fijalkowski (16) Janice Braxton (8) Suzie McConnell-Serio (12) Gund Arena 5–4
10 July 6 Houston L 64–78 Braxton
Jones (13)
Isabelle Fijalkowski (9) Suzie McConnell-Serio (4) Gund Arena 5–5
11 July 8 Washington W 77–65 Eva Němcová (15) Eva Němcová (7) Suzie McConnell-Serio (6) Gund Arena 6–5
12 July 10 @ Phoenix L 60–76 Janice Braxton (13) Janice Braxton (8) Suzie McConnell-Serio (5) America West Arena 6–6
13 July 12 @ Los Angeles L 66–87 Janice Braxton (13) Janice Braxton (7) Suzie McConnell-Serio (10) Great Western Forum 6–7
14 July 14 @ Sacramento W 61–58 Eva Němcová (15) Braxton
Fijalkowski (5)
Suzie McConnell-Serio (9) ARCO Arena 7–7
15 July 16 New York W 60–51 Isabelle Fijalkowski (15) Michelle Edwards (7) Suzie McConnell-Serio (7) Gund Arena 8–7
16 July 18 @ Detroit L 57–72 Michelle Edwards (13) Isabelle Fijalkowski (7) Braxton
Fijalkowski
Jones
Němcová
McConnell-Serio (1)
The Palace of Auburn Hills 8–8
17 July 19 Charlotte W 85–69 Merlakia Jones (19) Janice Braxton (9) Suzie McConnell-Serio (8) Gund Arena 9–8
18 July 25 Utah W 69–59 Isabelle Fijalkowski (24) Isabelle Fijalkowski (8) Edwards
McConnell-Serio (6)
Gund Arena 10–8
19 July 27 Los Angeles W 83–67 Eva Němcová (15) Isabelle Fijalkowski (9) Eva Němcová (9) Gund Arena 11–8
20 July 29 Sacramento W 75–67 Isabelle Fijalkowski (17) Isabelle Fijalkowski (8) Michelle Edwards (7) Gund Arena 12–8
21 July 30 @ Charlotte L 64–79 Michelle Edwards (24) Braxton
Fijalkowski (7)
Isabelle Fijalkowski (5) Charlotte Coliseum 12–9
1998 season schedule

Playoffs

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1998 playoff game log
Semifinal vs. Phoenix Mercury
Lost Series: 1–2
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
1 August 22 @ Phoenix L 68–78 Isabelle Fijalkowski (20) Isabelle Fijalkowski (9) Edwards
Němcová (4)
America West Arena 0–1
2 August 24 Phoenix W 67–66 Michelle Edwards (18) Janice Braxton (10) Suzie McConnell-Serio (9) Gund Arena 1–1
3 August 25 Phoenix L 60–71 Isabelle Fijalkowski (17) Isabelle Fijalkowski (11) Eva Němcová (5) Gund Arena 1–2
1998 playoff schedule

Season standings

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Eastern Conference W L PCT Conf. GB
Cleveland Rockers x 20 10 .667 12–4
Charlotte Sting x 18 12 .600 11–5 2.0
New York Liberty o 18 12 .600 8–8 2.0
Detroit Shock o 17 13 .567 8–8 3.0
Washington Mystics o 3 27 .100 1–15 17.0

Statistics

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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

Regular Season

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Eva Němcová 30 30 32.4 .466 .452 .893 3.7 2.2 1.1 0.7 11.9
Suzie McConnell-Serio 28 28 31.5 .455 .408 .729 2.2 6.4 1.8 0.2 8.6
Isabelle Fijalkowski 28 23 28.8 .547 .400 .821 6.9 2.1 0.6 1.0 13.7
Janice Braxton 30 30 28.0 .495 .333 .755 5.6 2.5 1.7 0.5 9.8
Michelle Edwards 23 9 23.2 .417 .324 .620 2.3 2.8 1.0 0.0 7.7
Merlakia Jones 30 21 22.8 .464 .350 .753 3.2 1.3 1.1 0.1 9.5
Rushia Brown 30 7 17.4 .460 .000 .776 3.1 0.9 1.1 0.5 6.5
Tully Bevilagua 11 2 11.5 .571 .333 .667 0.9 2.1 1.1 0.2 1.9
Adrienne Johnson 29 0 11.4 .457 .424 .722 1.7 0.5 0.2 0.1 4.6
Cindy Blodgett 22 0 8.4 .288 .270 .625 0.6 0.8 0.4 0.0 2.9
Raegan Scott 22 0 7.6 .368 .000 .833 1.3 0.3 0.1 0.2 1.7
Tanja Kostić 5 0 6.0 .667 N/A .500 0.4 0.4 0.0 0.0 1.0


Waived/Released during the season
Traded during the season
Acquired during the season

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ a b "1998 Cleveland Rockers Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 29, 2024.
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