The 2008 WNBA season was the 12th and final season for the Houston Comets. The Comets were not able to return to the postseason for the first time since 2006. By season's end, Comets owner Hilton Koch put the franchise up for sale less than two years after he bought it.
The WNBA set to returned for Houston following the 2026 season, when the Connecticut Sun became the "new" Houston Comets.
Offseason
Expansion draft Roneeka Hodges was selected in the 2008 Expansion Draft for the Atlanta Dream, and subsequently traded her to the Seattle Storm, along with the No. 4 pick in the 2008 WNBA draft for Iziane Castro Marques and the No. 8 overall pick.
WNBA draft Pick Player Nationality School/Club team 5 Matee Ajavon Rutgers 17 Erica White LSU 31 Crystal Kelly Western Kentucky WNBA.com: 2008 WNBA Draft Board
Transactions February 20: Signed free agent Mwadi Mabika. February 25: Re-signed free agent Tamecka Dixon. February 27: Signed Erin Grant to a training camp contract. March 6: Re-signed Barbara Turner, then traded her to the Connecticut Sun for Megan Mahoney. March 7: Signed free agent Shannon Johnson. March 28: Re-signed free agent Michelle Snow. March 31: Re-signed free agent Tina Thompson. April 10: Signed Debbie Remmerde to a training camp contract. April 14: Signed Tamara Ransburg and Marcedes Walker to training camp contracts. April 15: Waived Anastasia Kostaki. April 16: Signed Sequoia Holmes to a training camp contract. April 19: Waived Tamara Ransburg. April 24: Waived Debbie Remmerde. April 29: Waived Erin Grant, Megan Mahoney, Erin Myrick and Crystal Smith. May 15: Waived Crystal Kelly. May 16: Waived Latasha Byears. June 15: Waived Marcedes Walker. June 25: Re-signed Latasha Byears. June 27: Waived Ashley Shields. July 5: Signed Roneeka Hodges to a seven-day contract. July 16: Signed Roneeka Hodges for the remainder of the season.
WNBA.com: 2008 WNBA Transactions
Preseason Game Date Opponent Result Record 1 May 1 San Antonio W 74–68 1–0 2 May 9 Connecticut L 80–88 1–1 3 May 13 Washington L 66–72 1–2Wnba.Com: Schedules
Regular season In a game against the Detroit Shock on July 24, Shock player Nancy Lieberman broke her own record for being the oldest player in the WNBA. Lieberman, a Hall of Famer since 1999, was 39 years old when she played with Phoenix during the league's first year in 1997.
Nancy Lieberman played nine minutes and had two assists.Sports Illustrated, August 4, 2008, p.22 One of the assists included a no-look pass in the closing minutes of the Detroit Shock's 79–61 loss to the Houston Comets on July 24.
Season standings
Season schedule Date Opponent Score Result Record May 17 @ Detroit 66-85 Loss 0-1 May 25 @ Washington 66-69 Loss 0-2 May 27 vs. Minnesota 92-98 (OT) Loss 0-3 May 30 @ Sacramento 66-73 Loss 0-4 June 1 @ Seattle 63-64 Loss 0-5 June 3 vs. San Antonio 75-72 Win 1-5 June 6 @ New York 73-81 Loss 1-6 June 7 @ Indiana 75-84 Loss 1-7 June 14 vs. Seattle 68-60 Win 2-7 June 16 vs. Atlanta 88-79 Win 3-7 June 18 vs. Washington 63-67 Loss 3-8 June 21 @ Minnesota 72-65 Win 4-8 June 24 @ San Antonio 82-81(OT) Win 5-8 June 26 vs. San Antonio 77-71 Win 6-8 June 28 vs. Indiana 75-61 Win 7-8 July 1 @ Connecticut 68-78 Loss 7-9 July 3 @ Atlanta 72-65 Win 8-9 July 5 vs. Sacramento 73-65 Win 9-9 July 8 @ Phoenix 94-99 Loss 9-10 July 9 @ Los Angeles 74-82(OT) Loss 9-11 July 12 @ Minnesota 71-85 Loss 9-12 July 17 vs. Minnesota 96-88 Win 10-12 July 19 vs. Los Angeles 75-72(OT) Win 11-12 July 22 vs. Phoenix 94-92 Win 12-12 July 24 vs. Detroit 79-61 Win 13-12 July 26 vs. Chicago 79-65 Win 14-12 August 28 @ Seattle 49-66 Loss 14-13 August 30 @ Sacramento 65-80 Loss 14-14 September 2 vs. New York 87-90(OT) Loss 14-15 September 6 vs. Los Angeles 66-84 Loss 14-16 September 7 @ Phoenix 74-99 Loss 14-17 September 9 vs. Connecticut 75-68 Win 15-17 September 14 @ Chicago 79-76 Win 16-17 September 15 vs. Sacramento 90-81 Win 17-17COMETS: Comets Schedule 2008 The September 12th game against Sacramento Monarchs was postponed due to Hurricane Ike.
Player stats
Regular season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG 30 29 35.8 .412 .403 .859 6.9 2.1 1.1 0.7 18.1 34 34 25.2 .529 .500 .697 6.8 1.3 0.5 0.9 9.9 24 20 26.4 .403 .154 .857 3.2 1.8 1.0 0.1 9.0 27 9 18.1 .582 .000 .745 6.2 0.9 1.5 1.0 8.2 34 2 17.8 .331 .191 .791 1.8 1.7 0.9 0.2 8.0 26 22 22.7 .492 .500 .692 3.3 1.5 1.3 0.3 7.8 33 32 30.7 .379 .320 .747 3.2 5.1 1.6 0.3 7.7 15 6 18.3 .418 .366 1.000 2.0 1.3 0.3 0.1 7.3 20 11 16.4 .303 .274 .714 1.9 0.9 0.5 0.0 4.6 32 0 11.4 .505 .000 .549 2.4 0.6 0.4 0.3 3.8 34 2 12.5 .284 .143 .897 1.4 1.4 0.7 0.1 3.6 17 3 11.9 .258 .235 .727 2.1 0.6 0.5 0.1 3.1 11 0 4.2 .471 .000 .667 1.1 0.1 0.3 0.0 1.6 3 0 4.0 .000 .000 .500 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.7 2 0 5.5 .000 .000 .000 3.5 0.5 0.0 0.5 0.0
Roster
Awards and honors Matee Ajavon, Guard, All-WNBA Rookie Team
Final Days On December 1, 2008, the WNBA announced a plan to fold the team, which resulted in the loss of 37 jobs.Comets To Cease Operations from Houston KRIV A dispersal draft took place on December 8, 2008. Before the team folded, they were possibly going to move to Las Vegas, Nevada, but the plan didn't work out.
What turned out to be the team's final home game in its history was relocated from the Reliant Arena to the Strahan Coliseum on the campus of Texas State due to Hurricane Ike. The game was played on September 15, 2008 as the Comets defeated the Sacramento Monarchs 90–81.
References
External links Rockets/Monarchs game postponed