1997 WNBL SEASON

1997 WNBL season
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)
WNBL seasons
	← 1996 1998 →

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

Regular season

	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

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

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%

^ "Media guide WNBL 2014/15" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 January 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2022.
^ "WNBL Media Guide 2011/12" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2022.