1997 WNBL season

The 1997 WNBL season was the 17th season of competition since its establishment in 1981. A total of 9 teams contested the league.

1997 WNBL season
League	Women's National Basketball League (WNBL)
Sport	Basketball
Number of teams	9
TV partner(s)	ABC Network Ten
Regular season
Top seed	Sydney Flames
Season MVP	Rachael Sporn (Adelaide Lightning)
Top scorer	Rachael Sporn (Adelaide Lightning)
Finals
Champions	Sydney Flames
Runners-up	Adelaide Lightning
Finals MVP	Trisha Fallon (Sydney Flames)

Regular season

Ladder

	Team	Played	Won	Lost	Won %
1	Sydney Flames	18	18	0	100
2	Adelaide Lightning	18	14	4	78
3	Melbourne Tigers	18	12	6	67
4	Dandenong Rangers	18	9	9	50
5	Australian Institute of Sport	16	5	11	31
6	Canberra Capitals	18	6	12	33
7	Brisbane Blazers	18	6	12	33
8	Perth Breakers	18	5	13	28
9	Bulleen Boomers	18	5	13	28

Finals

Semi-finals					Preliminary final					Grand final
1	Sydney Flames	54
2	Adelaide Lightning	58
					Sydney Flames		57			Adelaide Lightning	56
					Melbourne Tigers		54			Sydney Flames	61
3	Melbourne Tigers	57
4	AIS	48		Key:		Winning team advances			Losing team advances

	Elimination Final
	4.	Dandenong Rangers	66
	5.	AIS	76

Season Awards

Award	Winner	Team
Most Valuable Player Award	Rachael Sporn	Adelaide Lightning
Grand Final MVP Award	Trisha Fallon	Sydney Flames
Rookie of the Year Award	Lauren Jackson	AIS
Defensive Player of the Year Award	Tully Bevilaqua	Perth Breakers
Coach of the Year Award	Bill Tomlinson	Sydney Flames
Top Shooter Award	Rachael Sporn	Adelaide Lightning

Statistical leaders

Category	Player	Team	GP	Totals	Average
Points Per Game	Rachael Sporn	Adelaide Lightning	18	400	22.2
Rebounds Per Game	Rachael Sporn	Adelaide Lightning	18	185	10.3
Assists Per Game	Robyn Maher	Sydney Flames	17	83	4.9
Steals Per Game	Tully Bevilaqua	Perth Breakers	18	55	3.1
Blocks per game	Jenny Whittle	Brisbane Blazers	18	52	2.9
Field Goal %	Rachael Sporn	Adelaide Lightning	18	(176/316)	55.7%
Three-Point Field Goal %	Trisha Fallon	Sydney Flames	18	(19/43)	44.2%
Free Throw %	Allison Cook	Melbourne Tigers	18	(82/91)	90.1%

References

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20150120114035/http://www.wnbl.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/Media_Guide/Media_Guide_201415.pdf
2. https://web.archive.org/web/20120318214857/http://www.wnbl.com.au/fileadmin/user_upload/Media_Guide/2011_12/Team_Profiles/10041_BASKAUST_MEDIA_GUIDE_2011-12_WNBL_BACK.pdf