# 2001 Cleveland Rockers 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 |
| May 27, 2001 | Traded a 2002 3rd Round Pick to the Detroit Shock in exchange for Jennifer Rizzotti |
| May 27, 2001 | Waived Jessica Zinobile |
| May 27, 2001 | 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 |

## Schedule
### Regular season

2001 game log Total: 22–10 (Home: 14–2; Road: 8–8) :
May: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
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 $^x$ | 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 |

## Statistics
### 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