2001 Cleveland Rockers 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 |
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.
Offseason
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | College/School/Team |
| 1 | 11 | Penny Taylor (F) |  Australia |
Dandenong Rangers (WNBL) |
| 2 | 27 | Jaynetta Saunders (F) |  United States |
Texas A&M |
| 3 | 43 | Angelina Wolvert (F) | United States |
Oregon |
| 4 | 59 | Erin Batth (F/C) | United States |
Clemson |
Regular season
Season standings
| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Rockers x | 22 | 10 | .688 | 15–6 | – |
| New York Liberty x | 21 | 11 | .656 | 13–8 | 1.0 |
| Miami Sol x | 20 | 12 | .625 | 14–7 | 2.0 |
| Charlotte Sting x | 18 | 14 | .563 | 15–6 | 4.0 |
| Orlando Miracle o | 13 | 19 | .406 | 9–12 | 9.0 |
| Indiana Fever o | 10 | 22 | .313 | 7–14 | 12.0 |
| Detroit Shock o | 10 | 22 | .313 | 7–14 | 12.0 |
| Washington Mystics o | 10 | 22 | .313 | 4–17 | 12.0 |
Season schedule
| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
| May 31 | Washington | 69-34 | Win | 1-0 |
| June 2 | @ Sacramento | 65-70 | Loss | 1-1 |
| June 5 | @ Los Angeles | 50-58 | Loss | 1-2 |
| June 7 | New York | 67-49 | Win | 2-2 |
| June 9 | Indiana | 86-76 | Win | 3-2 |
| June 12 | @ Portland | 62-67 | Loss | 3-3 |
| June 14 | @ Seattle | 58-36 | Win | 4-3 |
| June 16 | Miami | 70-53 | Win | 5-3 |
| June 17 | @ Washington | 57-55 | Win | 6-3 |
| June 22 | Los Angeles | 74-70 | Win | 7-3 |
| June 24 | @ Miami | 54-35 | Win | 8-3 |
| June 26 | Portland | 61-57 | Win | 9-3 |
| June 27 | @ Orlando | 65-41 | Win | 10-3 |
| June 30 | @ Charlotte | 55-58 | Loss | 10-4 |
| July 1 | Minnesota | 52-47 | Win | 11-4 |
| July 6 | @ Utah | 69-73 | Loss | 11-5 |
| July 8 | @ Houston | 63-53 | Win | 12-5 |
| July 10 | Seattle | 59-53 | Win | 13-5 |
| July 11 | @ Indiana | 76-58 | Win | 14-5 |
| July 13 | Phoenix | 69-61 | Win | 15-5 |
| July 19 | New York | 65-60 | Win | 16-5 |
| July 21 | Charlotte | 56-41 | Win | 17-5 |
| July 25 | Miami | 52-48 | Win | 18-5 |
| July 27 | Indiana | 63-67 | Loss | 18-6 |
| July 28 | @ Detroit | 57-50 | Win | 19-6 |
| July 30 | Orlando | 65-47 | Win | 20-6 |
| August 4 | @ New York | 58-43 | Win | 21-6 |
| August 7 | @ Orlando | 67-74 | Loss | 21-7 |
| August 8 | Detroit | 73-66 | Win | 22-7 |
| August 10 | Charlotte | 53-55 | Loss | 22-8 |
| August 12 | @ Washington | 49-57 | Loss | 22-9 |
| August 14 | @ Detroit | 65-76 | Loss | 22-10 |
Playoffs
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
| Eastern Conference Semifinals | |||||
| 1 | August 16 | @ Charlotte | 46-53 | Loss | 0-1 |
| 2 | August 18 | Charlotte | 69-51 | Win | 1-1 |
| 3 | August 20 | Charlotte | 64-72 | Loss | 1-2 |
Player stats
| Player | GP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS |
| Merlakia Jones | 30 | 164 | 45 | 29 | 4 | 404 |
| Chasity Melvin | 27 | 154 | 50 | 24 | 16 | 266 |
| Rushia Brown | 30 | 132 | 37 | 44 | 10 | 249 |
| Ann Wauters | 24 | 114 | 35 | 17 | 13 | 234 |
| Penny Taylor | 32 | 112 | 44 | 35 | 11 | 230 |
| Helen Darling | 32 | 76 | 109 | 34 | 4 | 196 |
| Mery Andrade | 32 | 87 | 100 | 51 | 10 | 152 |
| Jennifer Rizzotti | 32 | 30 | 51 | 25 | 2 | 119 |
| Eva Nemcova | 8 | 10 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 34 |
| Pollyanna Johns Kimbrough | 18 | 31 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 28 |
| Tricia Bader Binford | 19 | 12 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 21 |
| Paige Sauer | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |