WNBA New York Liberty

Keep Up With The Liberty Tonight

Published on July 19, 2005 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
New York Liberty News Release


Keep up with the Liberty on the road tonight! New York travels to Seattle to face the Storm in the first of a four game road trip. Tune in to MSG Network tonight at 10:00 p.m. to see Ann Wauters and the Liberty take on Lauren Jackson and the defending WNBA Champion Seattle Storm.

Come welcome the Liberty back home after its West Coast swing on Wednesday, July 27! The Houston Comets will shoot into The Garden for a 7:30 p.m. match-up. Cheer on your All-Star Becky Hammon and the Liberty as they take on All-Star Game MVP Sheryl Swoopes and the Comets. You'll want to get to the game early as the first 5,000 fans will receive a FREE Liberty baseball cap, courtesy of HIP!

Great seats are still available! Get yours now at the MSG Box Office, by phone at 877-WNBA-TIX or online at nyliberty.com.

See you July 27 at The Garden!

The Match-Up
New York travels to Seattle tonight to play the Storm ... Tip-off is set for 10:00 p.m. (EDT) at KeyArena ... This will be the first regular season meeting between the two teams in 2005 ... The Liberty and Storm met in a pre-season game on May 7, in which New York prevailed, 72-58 ... The Liberty is currently 8-8 (.500) after a 64-60 loss to Minnesota on Friday.

All-Time History vs. Seattle Storm (5-2)
New York has won the majority of its games against Seattle , having claimed five of the seven games the two teams have played since the Storm joined the WNBA in 2000 ... The teams played twice in 2004 and split the series, as each team won on the road.

Up Next
The Liberty continues on its four game road trip ... The team travels to Phoenix on Thursday to face the Mercury at 10:00 p.m. ... New York heads to Sacramento on Friday to play the Monarchs, also at 10:00 p.m. ... The Liberty wraps up the road swing on Sunday in Minnesota when the team plays the Lynx at 6:00 p.m. ... All three games will be broadcast on MSG Network.

Team Notes
THE DEFENSE DOES NOT REST
New York forced 17 Lynx turnovers on Friday, which ties a season best ... The team had previously caused 17 TOs on June 3 in Detroit and July 12 in Houston ... The 22 points the Liberty scored off the Lynx turnovers is also a season high ... The prior 2005 best in that category was 19 points, which New York posted in the July 12 win over the Comets.

KEEPING TABS ON HER
Despite losing to the Lynx on Friday, New York managed to contain Minnesota's superstar shooter ... The Liberty's tough defense held Katie Smith to just 10 points in the game ... She had been averaging 16 ppg going into Friday's game.

EVEN STEVEN
The Liberty is marching along at an even pace so far this season ... After 16 games, the Liberty is 8-8 ... This is the fourth time in 2005 the team has hovered at the .500 mark.

GIVING TO CHARITY
The Liberty out-shot the Lynx from the free throw line on Friday (.688-.556) ... That was the fifth straight game New York has shot the same as or better than its opponent from the charity stripe ... New York has equaled or bested its opponent from the line in 12 of the 16 games this season ... The team is currently shooting .822 from behind the line.

HONOR AMONG THIEVES
New York couldn't keep its hands to itself on Friday ... The Liberty ripped off 13 steals against the Lynx, a new season best for the team ... The previous 2005 high for steals was 11, which the Liberty accomplished on June 18 against Phoenix and July 12 in Houston.

PICK POCKETER
Crystal Robinson accounted for four of the Liberty's 13 steals on Friday ... That marks a season high for her in that defensive category ... Her previous best in 2005 was three steals, which she posted on May 26 against Indiana.

PROTECTING THE ROCK
While the Liberty's defense was taking the ball away from Minnesota on Friday, the team's offense was holding onto it ... New York committed only eight turnovers against the Lynx, the second best in a game so far this season ... That mark comes in second to the four TOs the Liberty recorded against Connecticut on July 7.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Ann Wauters and Becky Hammon have opponents seeing double ... Wauters' 12 points on Friday against Minnesota was the 11th consecutive game that she has scored in double digits ... Wauters has scored in double figures in 14 of the 16 games the Liberty has played so far in 2005 ... Hammon has racked up double digits in 12 of the 15 games this season .... All that point production is paying off: Wauters leads the team in scoring with 13.9 ppg, while Hammon is just behind her at 13.1 ppg.

RACKING ‘EM UP
Friday's game against Minnesota was the second straight game that Crystal Robinson has set a season high ... Her four steals against the Lynx is a new season best ... In the July 12 win over Houston, Robinson set a season high for assists with six (which also tied her career high).

MEETING ADJOURNED
When the Liberty battled the Lynx on Friday, the game featured a meeting of two members of a very elite WNBA club ... New York's Vickie Johnson and Minnesota's Katie Smith are two of the nine WNBA players to have reached the 3,000 career point mark ... That was the fifth game out of the last six that Johnson has faced a fellow 3,000-er.

LIKE BUTTER
The Liberty is on a roll on the road ... The July 12 win in Houston was the second straight road win for the team ... The previous victory came on July 5 in Los Angeles ... This marks the first time in 2005 New York has captured two straight wins on the road ... New York will be going for its third consecutive road win on Tuesday in Seattle.

FREEBIES
Ann Wauters seems to find herself at the free throw line often against the Storm ... She set a career high in both free throws made and attempted last year against Seattle ... She was 7-8 from the charity stripe against the Storm on June 15, 2004.

SWEET SMELL OF MAGNOLIA
There is a strong Louisiana presence amongst the Liberty and Storm ... Five total players attended college in the magnolia state ... New York's Amisha Carter and Vickie Johnson went to Louisiana Tech, along with Seattle's Betty Lennox ... The three graduated in 2004, 1996 and 2000, respectively ... The Liberty's DeTrina White graduated from Louisiana State in 2003 ... Minnesota's Janelle Burse graduated from Tulane in 2001.

JUST WARMING UP
While Tuesday's game will be the first regular season meeting between the Storm and Liberty, the two teams have already played once this year ... The teams met on May 7 in a pre-season match-up, which saw the Liberty prevail over the defending WNBA Champions, 72-58, at Madison Square Garden.

ROAD WARRIORS
New York has found success in the Emerald City in the five seasons the Storm and Liberty have been playing each other ... The Liberty is 3-1 in Seattle since 2000, when the Storm entered the league ... New York will look to continue its road success on Tuesday.

HOPING HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
The Liberty and Storm met twice last season, with each team winning on the road ... Tuesday's game will be the second straight game that New York has faced an opponent it split the 2004 series with by winning on the road ... The Liberty played Minnesota on Friday, with whom New York went 1-1 in 2004, picking up the win in Minnesota.

Check out the New York Liberty Statistics

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 19, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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