COOPER'S COMETS TAKE LIBERTIES IN TITLE GAME; HOUSTON CROWNED WNBA CHAMPIONS : HOUSTON 65, NEW YORK 51.

Byline: Mechelle Voepel Kansas City Star

The crowd was singing, confetti was falling and Houston's Cynthia Cooper was dancing on the scorer's table with a funny-looking red blob of a mascot named Haley the Comet.

Wonder whether she ever dreamed about this on one of those quiet, lonely nights in Europe five or seven or 10 years ago?

Saturday, Cooper - she of the extended road trip - got to dribble, pass, shoot, steal, rebound and rejoice in front of the people she always wanted to perform for: her family and the rest of America.

Cooper's Comets won the inaugural WNBA championship 65-51 over the New York Liberty in front of 16,285 fans who, through their cheers, kept saying over and over, ``Coop, welcome home.''

``It is a blessing to come out here and become the first WNBA champions,'' said Cooper, the former USC guard who had 25 points, four assists and four rebounds and was the game's MVP. ``This is the payoff for all the hard work, the sacrifices we made all summer.''

All summer? What about for the last 11 years? During that time, Cooper played pro ball overseas, mostly in Italy. She learned that language, plus French, plus a million moves to the basket.

``She has a great knowledge of the game; I think that is what carries her,'' said teammate Tina Thompson, who was 11 when Cooper went off to play pro ball in 1986 and then, like Cooper, attended USC. ``Cynthia has taught a lot of us a whole lot.''

But Cooper isn't the only Comet who spent years away from home playing basketball. Houston's Tammy Jackson, who left the University of Florida in 1985, has a similar story.

Saturday, Jackson's rebounding - she had a team-high 11 - and defense were as crucial to Houston as Cooper's brilliance. The Comets needed a ton, in fact, from all of their starters.

Jackson, normally a reserve, started in place of Wanda Guyton, who suffered a concussion in Thursday's semifinal game and did not play Saturday. Sheryl Swoopes, who was originally supposed to be the star of this team, came back late in the season after giving birth. She played just five minutes Saturday.

Cooper and Thompson, who had 18 points, went all 40 minutes. Guard Kim Perrot played 38, Jackson and forward Janeth Arcain 37 each.

It would have seemed that the Liberty, with a powerful post game of starters Rebecca Lobo and Kym Hampton and reserves Sue Wicks and Trina Trice, had the edge inside.

But it didn't happen like that. Thompson, the only '97 college grad of the 10 starters Saturday, and the veteran Jackson held Lobo and Hampton to a combined 22 points and made them work hard for all of those.

``Our offense was kind of stagnant,'' said Lobo, looking morose after the loss. ``We didn't get to reverse the ball too much, so I didn't have an opportunity to get to the block, which is where I really needed to get myself to.''

The Comets, boosted by Cooper's 11 points and a noisy crowd, led 28-24 at halftime. The kind of game expected between these teams: intense, physical and low-scoring, but still fun to watch.

In the first five minutes of the second half, though, Houston pretty much secured the silver trophy.

Jackson had two layups, Arcain a running jumper, Thompson a hook shot and Cooper one of her dazzling you-can't-see-the-first-step drives to the basket. Houston built a 10-point lead and it never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

What happened to the Liberty at the beginning of the second half?

``To be honest, I'm having a hard time drawing that up right now,'' New York coach Nancy Darsch said. ``I'm guessing it had something to do with us not executing on offense and not getting any offensive boards. And them executing. That's kind of the story of the whole game.''

Good guess, Coach. Isn't that the way it always goes? Good execution almost always wins. And when you're 34, Cooper's age, and have been executing for a long time, the big payoff is especially sweet.

So, yes, Cooper danced. She started singing, ``We are the Champions,'' at the news conference. She high-fived and hugged fans and stirred up the confetti on the Summit floor.

She got to share one of the best days of her life with her mother, Mary Cobbs, who has breast cancer.

``I've been tucked away in Europe for 11 years, and my mom hasn't been able to share many special moments with me,'' Cooper said. ``She's going through chemotherapy, and we're fighting breast cancer. This kind of takes that all away from her and lets her concentrate on something positive.''

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Photo

Photo: Houston's Janeth Arcain (9) tries to escape the grasp of New York guard Sophia Witherspoon during a first-half scramble.

Associated Press