2001 Cleveland Rockers season

WNBA team season

2001 Cleveland Rockers season
Coach	Dan Hughes
Arena	Gund Arena
Attendance	9,211 per game
Results
Record	22–10 (.688)
Place	1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost First Round (2-1) to Charlotte Sting
Team Leaders
Points	Merlakia Jones (13.5)
Rebounds	Chasity Melvin (5.7)
Assists	Helen Darling (3.4)
Media
Television	WUAB (UPN 43) Fox Sports Net Ohio
← 2000 season 2002 season →

The 2001 WNBA season was the 5th season for the Cleveland Rockers. The Rockers topped the Eastern Conference with the best record in franchise history, but their season ended shortly in the playoffs, losing in the first round to eventual conference champion Charlotte Sting.

Transactions

WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	11	Penny Taylor	Australia	Dandenong Rangers (Australia)
2	27	Jaynetta Saunders	United States	Texas A&M
3	43	Angelina Wolvert	United States	Oregon
4	59	Erin Batth	United States	Clemson

Transactions

Date	Transaction
April 20, 2001	Drafted Penny Taylor, Jaynetta Saunders, Angelina Wolvert and Erin Batth in the 2001 WNBA Draft
April 30, 2001	Signed Jessica Zinobile, Kim Williams, Rhonda Blades and Rhonda Smith
May 8, 2001	Waived Kim Williams and Rhonda Smith
May 11, 2001	Waived Rhonda Blades
May 22, 2001	Waived Erin Batth
May 27, 2001	Traded Jaynetta Saunders to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for a 2002 2nd Round Pick
	Traded a 2002 3rd Round Pick to the Detroit Shock in exchange for Jennifer Rizzotti
	Waived Jessica Zinobile
	Suspended contracts of Ann Wauters and Rushia Brown
June 1, 2001	Waived Angelina Wolvert
June 16, 2001	Waived Adia Barnes
July 10, 2001	Waived Vicki Hall
July 12, 2001	Waived Paige Sauer

Roster

2001 Cleveland Rockers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From	Yrs
F	23	Andrade, Mery	6' 0" (1.83m)	169 lb (77kg)	1975-12-31	Old Dominion	2
G	11	Bader Binford, Tricia	5' 4" (1.63m)	125 lb (57kg)	1973-02-26	Boise State	3
F	32	Barnes, Adia	5' 11" (1.8m)	165 lb (75kg)	1977-02-03	Arizona	3
F	34	Brown, Rushia	6' 2" (1.88m)	175 lb (79kg)	1972-05-05	Furman	4
G	30	Darling, Helen	5' 6" (1.68m)	164 lb (74kg)	1978-08-29	Penn State	1
F	42	Hall, Vicki	6' 1" (1.85m)	180 lb (82kg)	1969-10-03	Texas	1
C	41	Johns Kimbrough, Pollyanna	6' 3" (1.91m)	165 lb (75kg)	1975-11-06	Michigan	2
G	25	Jones, Merlakia	5' 10" (1.78m)	147 lb (67kg)	1973-06-21	Florida	4
F/C	44	Melvin, Chasity	6' 3" (1.91m)	185 lb (84kg)	1976-05-03	NC State	2
F	6	Němcová, Eva	6' 3" (1.91m)	178 lb (81kg)	1972-12-03		4
G	21	Rizzotti, Jennifer	5' 6" (1.68m)	146 lb (66kg)	1974-05-15	Connecticut	2
C	31	Sauer, Paige	6' 5" (1.96m)	200 lb (91kg)	1977-12-08	Connecticut	1
F	14	Taylor, Penny	6' 1" (1.85m)	165 lb (75kg)	1981-05-24		R
C	12	Wauters, Ann	6' 4" (1.93m)	193 lb (88kg)	1980-10-12		1
F/C	40	Wolvert, Angelina	6' 3" (1.91m)		1978-12-08	Oregon	R

Head coach: Dan Hughes (Muskingum)
Assistant coaches: Lisa Boyer

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Schedule

Regular season

2001 game log
Total: 22–10 (Home: 14–2; Road: 8–8)

May: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	May 31	Washington	W 69–34	Merlakia Jones (17)	Pollyanna Johns Kimbrough (10)	Chasity Melvin (5)	Gund Arena	1–0

June : 9–4 (Home: 5–0; Road: 4–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
2	June 2	@ Sacramento	L 65–70	Penny Taylor (19)	Jones Melvin (7)	Andrade Taylor (4)	ARCO Arena	1–1
3	June 5	@ Los Angeles	L 50–58	Merlakia Jones (18)	Merlakia Jones (12)	Helen Darling (8)	Staples Center	1–2
4	June 7	New York	W 67–49	Jones Melvin (13)	Merlakia Jones (8)	Merlakia Jones (6)	Gund Arena	2–2
5	June 9	Indiana	W 86–76	Chasity Melvin (22)	Brown Jones (6)	Chasity Melvin (5)	Gund Arena	3–2
6	June 12	@ Portland	L 62–67	Penny Taylor (11)	Merlakia Jones (7)	Andrade Jones (4)	Rose Garden	3–3
7	June 14	@ Seattle	W 58–36	Chasity Melvin (16)	Chasity Melvin (10)	Mery Andrade (6)	KeyArena	4–3
8	June 16	Miami	W 70–53	Merlakia Jones (18)	Chasity Melvin (11)	Andrade Jones (5)	Gund Arena	5–3
9	June 17	@ Washington	W 57–55	Merlakia Jones (17)	Chasity Melvin (12)	Mery Andrade (6)	MCI Center	6–3
10	June 22	Los Angeles	W 74–70	Merlakia Jones (26)	Chasity Melvin (7)	Helen Darling (4)	Gund Arena	7–3
11	June 24	@ Miami	W 54–35	Chasity Melvin (11)	Merlakia Jones (9)	Jennifer Rizzotti (4)	American Airlines Arena	8–3
12	June 26	Portland	W 61–57	Merlakia Jones (20)	Taylor Wauters (6)	Helen Darling (5)	Gund Arena	9–3
13	June 27	@ Orlando	W 65–41	Chasity Melvin (12)	Hall Melvin Taylor (5)	Helen Darling (8)	TD Waterhouse Centre	10–3
14	June 30	@ Charlotte	L 55–58	Rushia Brown (16)	Merlakia Jones (7)	Darling Jones Melvin (3)	Charlotte Coliseum	10–4

July : 10–2 (Home: 7–1; Road: 3–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
15	July 1	Minnesota	W 52–47	Merlakia Jones (13)	Merlakia Jones (6)	Helen Darling (6)	Gund Arena	11–4
16	July 6	@ Utah	L 69–73	Jones Melvin (13)	Chasity Melvin (8)	Mery Andrade (4)	Delta Center	11–5
17	July 8	@ Houston	W 63–53	Helen Darling (18)	Rushia Brown (11)	Helen Darling (7)	Compaq Center	12–5
18	July 10	Seattle	W 59–53	Rushia Brown (18)	Rushia Brown (8)	Brown Darling Rizzotti (4)	Gund Arena	13–5
19	July 11	@ Indiana	W 76–58	Darling Taylor (14)	Pollyanna Johns Kimbrough (5)	Jennifer Rizzotti (7)	Conseco Fieldhouse	14–5
20	July 13	Phoenix	W 69–61	Merlakia Jones (22)	Merlakia Jones (11)	Darling Rizzotti (3)	Gund Arena	15–5
21	July 19	New York	W 65–60	Ann Wauters (19)	Brown Jones (9)	Helen Darling (6)	Gund Arena	16–5
22	July 21	Charlotte	W 56–41	Ann Wauters (15)	Brown Jones (6)	Helen Darling (4)	Gund Arena	17–5
23	July 25	Miami	W 52–48 (OT)	Rushia Brown (15)	Ann Wauters (10)	Mery Andrade (5)	Gund Arena	18–5
24	July 27	Indiana	L 63–67	Rushia Brown (20)	Jones Taylor (7)	Mery Andrade (7)	Gund Arena	18–6
25	July 28	@ Detroit	W 57–50	Merlakia Jones (12)	Ann Wauters (8)	Helen Darling (2)	The Palace of Auburn Hills	19–6
26	July 30	Orlando	W 65–46	Helen Darling (16)	Rushia Brown (8)	Helen Darling (5)	Charlotte Coliseum	20–6

August : 2–4 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
27	August 4	@ New York	W 58–43	Ann Wauters (14)	Merlakia Jones (11)	Rushia Brown (3)	Madison Square Garden	21–6
28	August 7	@ Orlando	L 67–74	Merlakia Jones (20)	Rushia Brown (7)	Mery Andrade (5)	TD Waterhouse Centre	21–7
29	August 8	Detroit	W 73–66	Jones Taylor (14)	Jones Wauters (7)	Andrade Melvin (4)	Gund Arena	22–7
30	August 10	Charlotte	L 53–55	Merlakia Jones (15)	Ann Wauters (10)	Ann Wauters (5)	Gund Arena	22–8
31	August 12	@ Washington	L 49–57	Chasity Melvin (13)	Chasity Melvin (10)	Helen Darling (4)	MCI Center	22–9
32	August 14	@ Detroit	L 65–76	Penny Taylor (21)	Ann Wauters (8)	Mery Andrade (5)	The Palace of Auburn Hills	22–10

2001 season schedule

Playoffs

2001 playoff game log

First round vs. Charlotte Sting
Lost Series: 1–2

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	August 16	@ Charlotte	L 46–53	Ann Wauters (12)	Merlakia Jones (7)	Merlakia Jones (7)	Charlotte Coliseum	0–1
2	August 18	Charlotte	W 69–51	Merlakia Jones (19)	Merlakia Jones (7)	Darling Rizzotti (6)	Gund Arena	1–1
3	August 20	Charlotte	L 64–72	Merlakia Jones (13)	Helen Darling (5)	Helen Darling (10)	Gund Arena	1–2

2001 playoff schedule

Season standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	Conf.	GB
Cleveland Rockers	22	10	.688	15–6	–
New York Liberty	21	11	.656	13–8	1.0
Miami Sol	20	12	.625	14–7	2.0
Charlotte Sting	18	14	.563	15–6	4.0
Orlando Miracle	13	19	.406	9–12	9.0
Indiana Fever	10	22	.313	7–14	12.0
Detroit Shock	10	22	.313	7–14	12.0
Washington Mystics	10	22	.313	4–17	12.0

Statistics

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

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Merlakia Jones	30	30	33.3	.438	.265	.793	5.5	1.5	1.0	0.1	13.5
Mery Andrade	32	32	27.9	.339	.200	.667	2.7	3.1	1.6	0.3	4.8
Chasity Melvin	27	20	27.9	.474	1.000	.698	5.7	1.9	0.9	0.6	9.9
Ann Wauters	24	14	25.9	.569	.000	.800	4.8	1.5	0.7	0.5	9.8
Rushia Brown	30	24	25.3	.518	1.000	.730	4.4	1.2	1.5	0.3	8.3
Helen Darling	32	32	24.3	.355	.329	.764	2.4	3.4	1.1	0.1	6.1
Penny Taylor	32	0	17.5	.382	.301	.783	3.5	1.4	1.1	0.3	7.2
Vicki Hall	14	6	16.1	.409	.318	.500	2.4	0.6	0.1	0.4	4.6
Jennifer Rizzotti	32	0	14.9	.382	.384	.636	0.9	1.6	0.8	0.1	3.7
Eva Němcová	8	2	14.1	.342	.200	.625	1.3	1.0	0.3	0.6	4.3
Pollyanna Johns Kimbrough	18	0	6.6	.444	N/A	.444	1.7	0.2	0.0	0.1	1.6
Tricia Bader Binford	19	0	6.0	.400	.385	N/A	0.6	0.6	0.3	0.0	1.1
Angelina Wolvert	1	0	5.0	.333	N/A	N/A	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0
Paige Sauer	2	0	2.0	.333	N/A	N/A	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.0
Adia Barnes	3	0	1.0	1.000	N/A	N/A	0.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7

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

References

^ "2001 Cleveland Rockers Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 16, 2024.

v t e Cleveland Rockers
Founded in 1997 Folded in 2003 Based in Cleveland, Ohio
Franchise	Franchise Final season
Arenas	Gund Arena
Head Coaches	Linda Hill-MacDonald Dan Hughes
Personnel	Owner Gordon Gund
Seasons	1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003

v t e 2001 WNBA season by team
Draft All-Star Game Championship Playoffs
Eastern	Charlotte Sting Cleveland Rockers Detroit Shock Indiana Fever Miami Sol New York Liberty Orlando Miracle Washington Mystics
Western	Houston Comets Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury Portland Fire Sacramento Monarchs Seattle Storm Utah Starzz
← 2000 WNBA season 2002 →

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