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The WNBA Finals is the championship series of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the conclusion of the sport's postseason each fall. The series was named the WNBA Championship until 2002.

The series is played between the winners of the Western Conference and the Eastern Conference. At the conclusion of the championship round, the winner of the WNBA Finals is presented the championship trophy. The WNBA Finals has been played at the conclusion of every WNBA season in history, the first being held in 1997.

Since 2005, the winner of the WNBA Finals has been determined through a 2–2–1 format. The first, second, and fifth games of the series are played at the arena of the team who earned home court advantage by having the better record during the regular season.

History[link]

The WNBA Finals were originally a single championship game to decide the WNBA champion. However, in 1998, after the addition of two teams, the WNBA Finals were turned into a best-of-three games series. In 2005, the WNBA Finals adopted a best-of-five format. This finale series was known as the WNBA Championship from 1997 to 2001, before changing to reflect its NBA counterpart.

Highlights[link]

• The 2003 Finals was best known for rekindling a heated rivalry between the two teams' head coaches, Los Angeles Sparks head coach Michael Cooper and former Detroit Shock head coach Bill Laimbeer. Both coaches were fierce NBA competitors who played in the NBA Finals against each other in 1988 and 1989.

• In 2001, the #4 seed Charlotte Sting was the lowest seed ever to make the WNBA Finals.

• 2006 marked the first time that a #1 seed did not participate in the WNBA Finals. Detroit and Sacramento were both 2 seeds.

• The New York Liberty have the most Finals appearances (4) without winning a championship.

• The Detroit Shock are the 3rd team to win multiple championships (following Houston and Los Angeles respectively). However, they are the first team to win non-consecutive championships.

• 2006 marked the first time that the team with the best point-differential in the regular-season didn't win the WNBA Finals or even advance to the WNBA finals. The Connecticut Sun had the best point differential in '06 but was ousted by the Shock in the Eastern Conference Finals.

• The Detroit Shock hosted the three largest crowds in Finals History (22,076 in Game 3 of 2003 WNBA Finals, 19,671 in Game 5 of 2006 WNBA Finals and 22,076 in Game 5 of the 2007 WNBA Finals)

• Only two Eastern Conference franchises have won the WNBA Finals: the 1997 Houston Comets (who moved to the Western Conference the following year) and the Detroit Shock (who are now in the Western Conference as Tulsa).

• The 2007 game-five win by the Phoenix Mercury marked the first time in WNBA history that a team won the Finals while playing on their opponent's home court.

• In 2008 the San Antonio Silver Stars became the first team in the history of the WNBA Finals to be swept in a five game series losing to the Detroit Shock.

• The 2009 Finals series saw around a 60% increase in viewership from the previous season's series.

• The 2011 WNBA Finals was the first coached by two women.

Finals appearances[link]

Statistics below refer to series wins and losses, not individual game wins and losses.

• ¹Folded following 2006 season
• ²Folded following 2008 season
• ³Relocated to Tulsa following 2009 season
• ⁴Folded following 2009 season

Active franchises with no Finals appearances[link]

• Chicago Sky - founded in 2006
• Washington Mystics - founded in 1998

Records[link]

This table shows a list of records through the history of the WNBA Finals.

See also[link]

• WNBA Playoffs
• Category:Women's National Basketball Association seasons
• WNBA Coach of the Year
• WNBA Finals MVP
• WNBA MVP
• WNBA Defensive Player of the Year
• WNBA Most Improved Player
• WNBA Rookie of the Year
• Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award

External links[link]

• WNBA.com

Tamika Catchings

WNBA's Indiana Fever  – No. 24
Forward
Born	(1979-07-21) July 21, 1979 (age 32) Stratford, New Jersey
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	167 lb (76 kg)
High school	Adlai E. Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Illinois) Duncanville
College	Tennessee
Draft	3rd overall, 2001 Indiana Fever
Profile	WNBA Info Page
WNBA Teams
Indiana Fever (2002–present)
Non-WNBA Teams
Spartak Moscow (2005) Lotos Gdynia (2009) Galatasaray (2010, 2011)
Awards and Honors
Member of All-Decade Team Member of Top 15 Team Olympic Gold Medalist (2004, 2008) 7× WNBA All-Star (2002, 2003, 2005–2007, 2009, 2011) 4× Defensive Player of the Year (2005, 2006, 2009, 2010) Rookie of the Year (2002) Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award (2010) Most Valuable Player (2011)
Medal record Women's basketball Competitor for the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2004 Athens Team competition Gold 2008 Beijing Team competition World Championship Bronze 2006 Brazil Team competition

Tamika Devonne Catchings (born July 21, 1979 in Stratford, New Jersey) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever of the WNBA and Turkish team Galatasaray. She is a prolific scorer close to and far from the basket, as well as a capable rebounder, ball handler, and defender. After playing at Adlai E. Stevenson High School and graduating from Duncanville High School, Tamika Catchings became one of the stars of the University of Tennessee women's basketball team. In 2001, she was drafted by the Indiana Fever. After sitting out the entire year in which she was drafted due to injury, she had an all-star rookie season in 2002. In 2011, she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in WNBA history.

Career[link]

Catchings played for Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas, where she was named a WBCA All-American.^[1] She participated in the WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored twelve points.^[2] She is also the first player in to be officially credited with scoring a quintuple-double.

Catchings was an All-American with the Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball for 1997–2001. As a freshman on the undefeated 1997–98 National champions, she was part of the "Three Meeks" with Semeka Randall and Chamique Holdsclaw. Catchings was drafted by the Indiana Fever in 2001. Unable to play her rookie season, she had an outstanding year in 2002 and was named WNBA Rookie of the Year. She has led Indiana Fever in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in six of her eight WNBA seasons. Catchings played for the USA women's basketball team at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, helping the team win the gold medal.

In 2005, she scored her 2,000th point in the WNBA. With this she became the fastest player to score 2000 career points in the WNBA, reaching the milestone in only four seasons of play. She is also the fastest to 1,000 rebounds, 400 assists, and 300 steals. In 2005, Catchings was also named the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. Catchings then repeated as Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. She was again named Defensive Player of the Year in 2009. Also during the 2009 season she led her Indiana Fever to their first ever Eastern Conference championship, however they fell short in their quest to win the WNBA title as they were defeated in five games by the Phoenix Mercury.

In 2006, she was voted in to the 2006 WNBA All-Star Game, and was also the leading vote-getter, but had to sit out because of a foot injury. At half-time she was announced as a member of the All-Decade Team along with 9 other players and former Comets coach Van Chancellor. Five years later she was voted in by fans as one of the Top 15 players in the fifteen year history of the WNBA.^[3]

In 2011, she was the Most Valuable Player in the WNBA.

Catchings is a 5-time WNBA All-Star, a 5-time All-WNBA selection and is famous for recording the only ever quintuple double (25 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 steals and 10 blocks in 1997). She is also President of the WNBA Players Association.

WNBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]

Postseason[link]

USA Basketball[link]

Catchings was invited to the USA Basketball Women's National Team training camp in the fall of 2009.^[4] The team selected to play for the 2010 FIBA World Championship and the 2012 Olympics is usually chosen from these participants. At the conclusion of the training camp, the team will travel to Ekaterinburg, Russia, where they compete in the 2009 UMMC Ekaterinburg International Invitational.^[4]

Catchings was named as one of the National team members to represent the USA Basketball team in the WNBA versus USA Basketball.^[5] This game replaces the normal WNBA All-Star game with WNBA All-Stars versus USA Basketball, as part of the preparation for the FIBA World Championship for Women to be held in the Czech Republic during September and October 2010.^[6]

Catchings was one of 21 finalists for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team Roster. The 20 professional women's basketball payers, plus one collegiate player (Brittney Griner), were selected by the USA Basketball Women’s National Team Player Selection Committee to compete for the final roster which will represent the USA at the 2012 Olympics in London.^[7]

Personal[link]

Catchings is the daughter of former NBA player Harvey Catchings. Her sister Tauja also played basketball at Stevenson and the University of Illinois, was drafted by the WNBA and now plays in Sweden. Tamika's cousin Bobby is a starting forward for Eastern Illinois University's basketball team. Tamika majored in Sports Management at the University of Tennessee.

Catchings helped Stevenson High School to Illinois's IHSA Div. AA State Championship in her Sophomore year in 1995 under head coach Frank Mattucci before moving to Texas.^[8] Her sophomore year at Stevenson she won Illinois Ms. Basketball (which at the time was the youngest player to ever win the award). In addition to leading Duncanville High to the state basketball title in her senior season (she played only two years at Duncanville after moving from the Chicago area), she also led the volleyball team to its only state title as a junior.

Catchings was born with a hearing disability, she wore a hearing aid as a young girl. In 2000, she was honored with the Reynolds Society Achievement Award by the world-famous Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. Catchings is a leading figure in the Indianapolis community, having started the Catch the Stars Foundation, Inc. which helps disadvantaged youth achieve their dreams. On June 24, 2008 Catchings was awarded the Dawn Staley Community Leadership Award for her work in the Indianapolis community with her foundation.^[9]

Catchings refereed a game of 3-on-3 basketball played by Barack Obama along with local students Kokomo, Indiana at the Maple Crest Middle School on April 25, 2008. Fever teammate Alison Bales also played on Obama's team.

Awards and achievements[link]

• 2011 WNBA MVP
• Six-time WNBA All-Star Selection
• Six-time All-WNBA Team
• The first of two recorded Quintuple-double with Duncanville High School (Duncanville, Texas) with 25 points, 18 rebounds, 11 assists, 10 steals and 10 blocks in 1997.

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Tamika Catchings at WNBA.com
• Tamika Catchings's Official Website
• Indiana Fever Official Website

Erlana Larkins (born April 2, 1986) is an American professional basketball player in the WNBA.

High school[link]

Larkins played for The Benjamin School in North Palm Beach, Florida, where she was named a WBCA All-American.^[1] She participated in the 2004 WBCA High School All-America Game where she scored four points.^[2]

USA Basketball[link]

Larkins played for the USA team in the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The team won all five games, earning the Gold Medal for the event.^[3]

College career[link]

Larkins played college basketball at the University of North Carolina for the Lady Tarheels. She made the all-ACC first team in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

European career[link]

• 2008–2009: Samsun Basketbol
• 2009–2010: Mersin Büyükşehir Belediyesi

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• WNBA Player Profile

This biographical article relating to a United States basketball figure born in the 1980s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Katie Douglas

WNBA's Indiana Fever  – No. 23
Guard/Forward
Born	(1979-05-07) May 7, 1979 (age 33) Indianapolis, Indiana
Nationality	American
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg)
College	Purdue University
Draft	10th overall, 2001 Orlando Miracle
Profile	WNBA Info Page
WNBA Teams
Orlando Miracle (2001–2002) Connecticut Sun (2003–2007) Indiana Fever (2008–present)
Non-WNBA Teams
Ano Liosia Basketball (2003) S.U. Glyfada Esperides Kyklos (2003–2004) TEO Vilnius (2004–2007) Ros Casares Valencia (2007–2008) CSKA Moscow (2008–2009) Galatasaray (2009–2010) Ros Casares Valencia (2010–present) Wisła Can-Pack Kraków (2012-present)[1]
Awards and Honors
4× WNBA All-Star (2006, 2007, 2009, 2011) WNBA All-Star MVP (2006) WNBA All-Defensive First Team (2005)

Kathryn Elizabeth “Katie” Douglas (born on May 7, 1979 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American professional basketball player for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA. Her primary position is shooting guard, her secondary is small forward.

College years[link]

After attending Perry Meridian High School in Indianapolis, Douglas attended Purdue University and graduated in 2001 as a communications major. She helped lead Purdue to a NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship in 1999 and was a two-time Kodak All-America in 2000 and 2001, as well as being named to the 1999 and 2001 NCAA Women's Final Four All-Tournament Team. In 2001, she received a number of awards including the Big Ten Conference "Player of the Year" and the Silver Basketball from the Chicago Tribune. Douglas also received the 2001 Big Ten Conference Suzy Favor Award, which is given to the conference's female athlete of the year across all sports.

WNBA career[link]

Douglas was selected the 10th overall pick by the Orlando Miracle in the 2001 WNBA Draft. She remained with the franchise even when the Miracle relocated to Uncasville, Connecticut, and was renamed the Connecticut Sun prior to the 2003 season. Following the 2005 WNBA season, Douglas was named to the WNBA All-Defensive First Team. In 2006, she was named Most Valuable Player of the 2006 WNBA All-Star Game.

In 2007 Douglas ranked 5th in the league in steals (65), 7th in scoring (577), and 12th in assists (125). Douglas was again selected for the WNBA All-Defensive First Team.

On February 19, 2008, the Connecticut Sun traded Douglas to the Indiana Fever for Tamika Whitmore and the Fever's first round pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft.^[2]

WNBA career statistics[link]

Regular season[link]