By Derek Crudele
SportsTicker
Wednesday, June 9, 1999, 11:23 a.m. EDT

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey – There are five teams in the WNBA's Western Conference ... and then there are the Houston Comets. The only champions the league has known in its two-year existence are the clear-cut favorites to make it three in a row, but they will play the season without point guard Kim Perrot, who was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent brain surgery in February.

Jennifer Rizzotti and Sonja Henning, both drafted from the defunct American Basketball League, are the leading candidates to step in for Perrot, but replacing her leadership will be a difficult task.

Stopping Houston means stopping two of the most lethal players in the league – Cynthia Cooper and Sheryl Swoopes – who were both named first-team ALL-WNBA.

Cooper has been the undisputed queen of women's basketball over the last two seasons, winning a pair of regular season and playoff Most Valuable Player awards. The 36-year old guard has scored in double figures over all 65 games in Comets history. She led the WNBA last season at 22.7 points per game.

In her first full season following the well-publicized birth of her son, Jordan, the 6-0 Swoopes finished sixth in scoring, averaging 15.6 points. During Houston's playoff run, Swoopes scored 14.6 points and grabbed 10.0 rebounds.

Forward Tina Thompson is the last of the First-Teamers for a club that underwent very little transition in the off-season. Center Kara Wolters was brought in to help down low and perhaps replace the unsigned Janeth Arcain.

The Comets' closest competitor is the same team that took them to the deciding game of last season's WNBA Finals, the Phoenix Mercury. Phoenix has tasted postseason action the last two seasons, but hopes this is finally its year in the spotlight.

Jennifer Gillom, a First-Team selection last season, averaged 20.8 points for the Mercury. Guards Bridget Pettis and Michelle Timms have proven to be a nice fit, but the team realized the need for better shooting and selected Edna Campbell from the Colorado Xplosion (ABL). She shot 47 percent (37-of-85) from three-point range last season.

Since the league has adjusted its playoff format so that one team from each conference will meet for the title, there will be no finals rematch. The battle of the backcourts, plus the bench, which favors Houston, could ultimately determine who is the best in the West.

The Mercury and Comets will meet in Phoenix on July 9 and 19, and in Houston on July 31 and Aug. 18.

While the top two teams in the West are clearly defined, so is its most disappointing in the Los Angeles Sparks. After missing the playoffs on the last day of the 1997 campaign, the Sparks started out last season 2-7 and finished six games in back of the final playoff spot.

Center Lisa Leslie is the conference's only second-team performer. However, her inability to come through against name teams led to the drafting of 6-1 DeLisha Milton and 6-5 Clarisse Machanguana. Both players were double-figure scorers in the ABL and hope to provide another option for a team that endured losing streaks of three and five games last season.

Tamecka Dixon, Penny Toler and Ukari Figgs will battle for the backcourt spots, but there are few options off the bench in a conference where depth is paramount. Allison Feaster, a former NCAA scoring champion, and Jamila Wideman need to provide a better effort to take pressure off the starters.

Up north in California, the Sacramento Monarchs look to make a serious push for the conference's third and final playoff position.

Basketball fans in Sacramento are used to seeing an exciting point guard in Jason Williams of the NBA's Kings. However, before his arrival, the Monarchs already had a show-stopper of their own in Ticha Penicheiro. The 5-11 fireball from Portugal led the league with 7.5 assists last season while playing almost 36 minutes a game.

The big story for Sacramento is the return of 5-9 guard Ruthie Bolton-Holifield, who played just five games before tearing her anterior cruciate ligament. The backcourt gets some much-needed help with Kedra Holland-Corn and Kate Starbird arriving from the ABL and Cindy Blodgett coming over from Cleveland.

The obvious question is whether the Monarchs' frontcourt will be a factor. Yolanda Griffith is a valuable addition after averaging 17.2 points with Chicago (ABL) last season. It is still to be determined whether Latasha Byears can come close to her 14.2 points from last season or if Tangela Smith (9.7 points) will take some weight off the others. The Utah Starzz are hoping 1998 ABL MVP Natalie Williams will be the go-to player they are desperatly looking for. Even with 6-2 Wendy Palmer, 6-5 Elena Baranova and 7-2 Margo Dydek, the Starzz faltered in the clutch. Williams was the ABL's leading scorer and rebounder last season at 19.9 and 9.9. Palmer led the Starzz with 13.5 points per game, but was 14th in the league, the lowest amongst any of the team's leading scorers last season. Palmer, Baranova and Dydek combined to average 39.3 points while the remaining eight players averaged 38.0. The backcourt offers very little help despite the acquisition of 5-3 Debbie Black (7.1 points). 5-6 Chantel Tremitiere is one of the few options the Starzz possess, but she begins the season on the injured list. The team that might have the longest season in the West is the expansion Minnesota Lynx. Coach Brian Agler has brought over players that he coached with the two-time ABL Champion Columbus Quest, but with more depth in the WNBA, the Lynx will endure many growing pains in 1999. Guard Katie Smith is the main focus amongst the former Quest, but is still rehabilitating a torn ACL from last year. Kristin Folkl, a former standout at Stanford, is also coming off an ACL injury and will get her first taste of pro basketball. Folkl has not played on a consistent basis in 14 months. Former Columbus star guard Tonya Edwards averaged 16.2 points last season and could turn out to be the perfect complement to Smith. Angie Potthoff, Adia Barnes and Brandy Reed, acquired from Phoenix, will see extended minutes at forward.