Liberty open season against Detroit Shock
Published on May 22, 2005 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
New York Liberty News Release
New York Liberty vs. Detroit Shock Sunday, May 22, 2005 * Madison Square Garden * 4:00 p.m.
It's not too late to get your tickets! Great seats are still available for Opening Day, so pick yours up at the MSG Box Office, call 877-WNBA-TIX or log onto nyliberty.com.
While you are enjoying the fast-paced action of Liberty basketball, make sure to take advantage of all the special offers we have for you at The Garden. The first 5,000 fans through the doors will receive a FREE Liberty calendar, courtesy of Sirius Satellite Radio. Hit up the concession stands and save $2 on popcorn. Stop in at the Team Store and get 15% off Liberty hooded towels. After the game, swing by Play by Play and save on special bottles, drafts and margaritas.
Probable Starters
Vickie Johnson Becky Hammon Crystal Robinson Elena Baranova Ann Wauters
TRANSACTIONS: Dec. 8, 2004, Pat Coyle named head coach ... April 1, Nick DiPillo named assistant coach ... April 5, Vickie Johnson re-signed for ninth season ...April 7, La'Keshia Frett and DeTrina White re-signed ... April 16, Loree Moore, Tabitha Pool and Rebecca Richman selected 10th, 23rd and 36th, respectively, in the 2005 WNBA Draft ...April 20, Monique Coker, Stacy Stephens, Kelley Gibson, Amisha Carter, Keila Beachem, Ndeye Ndiaye and Aminata Yanni signed as free agents ...April 29, Stacy Stephens and Keila Beachem waived ... May 2, Aminata Yanni waived... May 3, Kelley Gibson and Ndeye Ndiaye waived ... May 11, Rebecca Richman waived... May 16, Tabitha Pool waived ... May 18, Bethany Donaphin waived ... May 19, K.B. Sharp and Monique Coker waived ... May 20, Loree Moore placed on Injured Reserve.
Today's Match-up
Today the New York Liberty host the Detroit Shock in a 4:00 p.m. game at Madison Square Garden ... This is the season and home opener for the Liberty ... The two teams met one week ago on May 15 in pre-season action at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, NY ... The Shock walked away with the 68-62 win, led by Ayana Walker with 12 points... New York's Shameka Christon led all scorers with 19 points.
Up Next
The Liberty will host the Indiana Fever on Thursday at Madison Square Garden ...Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ... The team then hits the road, traveling to Washington for a 7:00 p.m. match-up on Wednesday, June 1 ... The Liberty will travel to Detroit on Friday, June 3 to face the Shock at 7:30 p.m. ... Next the team returns home to face Washington on Sunday, June 5 at 4:00 p.m.
All-time Series History vs. Detroit (12-13)
Overall the Liberty is just below the .500 mark against the Shock, having won 12 of the 25 games the two teams have played since Detroit's inaugural season in 1998 ...The two Eastern Conference rivals faced off four times in 2004 and they split the season series ... The Liberty won both games in New York, 64-52 at Madison Square Garden and 78-69 at Radio City Music Hall, while the Shock won both games in Detroit, 88-79 and 82-71 ... The two teams also met in the First Round of the Playoffs ... The Liberty won the series, 2-1.
2004 New York vs. Detroit Season Series (2-2)
GAME RECAP: May 26 -- Shock 52, Liberty 64: With all five starters scoring in double figures, the Liberty won their second consecutive game, defeating the defending champion Detroit Shock, 64-52 ... Tari Phillips and Crystal Robinson scored 13 points apiece ... The Shock led at half-time 34-33 ... Becky Hammon came up big in the second half scoring 10 of her 12 points ... Robinson's three-pointer jump started an 11-2 run to snap a 38-38 tie ... Robinson's jumper led to a 49-40 advantage with 14:06 remaining ... Elena Baranova just missed her third consecutive double-double scoring 11 points and grabbing nine boards.
GAME RECAP: July 24 -- Shock 69, Liberty 78 -- The Liberty made history by playing in and winning the first ever basketball game at Radio City Music Hall, defeating the Detroit Shock 78-69 in front of a sellout crowd ... After a back-and-forth first half, the Shock led by one point, 35-34, at halftime ... With the game tied at 53 with 8:35 remaining, the Liberty went on a 14-3 run, giving them a 67-56 lead with 2:20 left in the game ... Elena Baranova scored 16 of her 21 points in the second half while Becky Hammon added 17 points and Vickie Johnson finished with 16 points and a season-high eight rebounds ... Swin Cash led the Shock with 21 points while Ruth Riley added 18 points and 13 rebounds...New York out-shot Detroit .400 to .333... Baranova also pulled down eight rebounds, dished out five assists and blocked four shots in the win.
GAME RECAP: July 30 -- Liberty 79, Shock 88 -- Detroit was led by Cheryl Ford's 19 points and nine rebounds ... The Shock never trailed, taking control with a 14-4 run to open the game ... Swin Cash scored nine points in the first half, which ended with Detroit holding a 44-31 lead at halftime ... In the second half, New York's reserves chipped away at the Detroit lead as the Liberty bench scored 29 points in the half ... The teams traded baskets as New York got as close as six points with :35 seconds remaining in the game ... Free throws by Ruth Riley and Elaine Powell sealed the Detroit victory ... The Liberty bench scored 38 points in the game while White scored a season-high 10 points ... Elena Baranova and Becky Hammon scored 12 points for the Liberty.
GAME RECAP: Sept. 14 -- Liberty 71, Shock 82, OT -- With a nine-point deficit entering the second half, the Liberty orchestrated a 15-3 run behind excellent defense and baskets from Crystal Robinson and Becky Hammon to tie the game up at 50 apiece with 11:55 remaining in regulation ... The Liberty and Shock exchanged baskets over the next 10 minutes until two Robinson free-throws gave New York a three-point lead with :09 seconds left ... Deanna Nolan tied the game, 67-67, on a three-pointer with :02.9 seconds left in regulation for Detroit ... In overtime, Detroit outscored New York, 15-4, to win the game ... Hammon and Robinson had 14 points apiece while Elena Baranova added 12 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Liberty.
2005 Liberty Pre-season Results
GAME RECAP: May 7 -- Storm 58, Liberty 72: Despite missing four players -- three still overseas and one at her college graduation -- the Liberty pulled off the win over the defending WNBA Champions ... New York connected on .400 of its shots, compared to just .286 from the visitors, however the Storm out-rebounded the Liberty, 39-30 ... New York took a 32-21 lead into the locker room at the half after forcing 14 Storm turnovers for 14 points ... The Storm performed better in the second half, improving its field goal shooting to .375 and committing only eight turnovers ... The efforts were not enough, however, as the Liberty held on for the 14-point margin of victory ... Shameka Christon rattled off 15 points, 11 of which came in the second half, to lead all scorers.
GAME RECAP: May 15 -- Liberty 62, Shock 68: The pre-season game was a story of two halves ... The Shock out-scored the Liberty, 34-21, in the first half ... New York came out of the gate in the second half and almost doubled its first-half production, scoring 41 points ... The second half surge was not enough, as the Shock held on for the 68-62 win ... Detroit out-shot the Liberty both from the field (.438-.344) and from beyond the arc (.333-.150) ... The Liberty did shoot significantly better from the charity stripe, combining on 15-20 free throws compared to just 11-23 from the opponent ... Shameka Christon led the Liberty with 19 points, while DeTrina White paced the team on the boards, hauling down eight rebounds.
Team Notes
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME Today marks just the second time in the history of the Liberty that the team will play its season opener at home ... The first time was against Cleveland, when the Liberty started the 1999 season with an 87-60 win.
LIBERTY PLAYERS & SEASON OPENERS Veteran Vickie Johnson is the only current player to have competed in all eight season openers in team history ... Johnson scored in double figures in six of the eight contests.
BETTER LUCK THIS YEAR Season openers have not been too lucky for the Liberty thus far ... In eight years of action, the Liberty is just 2-6 in its opening games ... The team has lost five straight, starting in 2000 ... However, one of the two season opening wins came in the Liberty's only home opener, an 87-60 win over Cleveland in 1999.
SCORING MACHINE New York's opener high in points is 87, posted vs. the Cleveland Rockers on June 10, 1999 ... Becky Hammon and Vickie Johnson have racked up the highest scoring games in season openers, both recording 20 points ... Johnson lit up Miami in 2001, while Hammon dropped her 20 against Cleveland in 2003.
THERE'S A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING Today's game is the first time New York and Detroit will meet in a season opener ...The Liberty has had a few repeat offenders in opening games: the team has played Los Angeles twice and Cleveland three times ... The Liberty has also made trips to Houston, Miami and Indiana to open the season.
LET'S TRY THIS AGAIN The Liberty and Shock met just one week ago in a pre-season game in Albany, NY ...New York came out on the wrong end of the match-up, losing 68-62 ...Several players were missing from both teams for the game ... Cheryl Ford and Swin Cash sat out for the Shock, while Ann Wauters and Elena Baranova had both not yet returned to the Liberty from overseas ... Ford, Wauters and Baranova will all suit up today.
EVEN STEVEN The Liberty finished the 2005 pre-season 1-1 ... This year's results bring the team to a .500 mark all-time ... The Liberty is 11-11 all-time in the pre-season.
THE SWEET SMELL OF MAGNOLIA There is a strong Louisiana presence in today's game ... Seven total players went to college in the magnolia state ... The Liberty's Vickie Johnson and Amisha Carter and Detroit's Ayana Walker and Cheryl Ford all attended Louisiana Tech, graduating in 1996, 2004, 2002 and 2003, respectively ... Louisiana State is represented by New York's DeTrina White ('03) and Detroit's Elaine Powell ('97) ... Barbara Farris of the Shock graduated from Tulane in 1998.
THEY'RE BACK Both Ann Wauters and Elena Baranova missed the greater part of training camp ... The two players were fulfilling commitments to their teams overseas ... Wauters and Baranova missed both pre-season games, so today will be their first time hitting the hardwood for the Liberty this year ... That time was well-spent though, as the two Liberty teammates faced off in the Russian Finals, of which Wauters came out on top.
SPEAKING OF DEBUTS First round draft pick Loree Moore's Madison Square Garden debut will just have to wait ... The rookie guard missed the team's lone home pre-season game on May 7 to return to Knoxville, TN for graduation ... She will sit out today's home opener due to left knee pain ... Moore's next possible opportunity to suit up at The Garden is May 26 when the Liberty host the Indiana Fever.
KNOCK ON WOOD The Liberty starts the season with healthy veterans ... The team went without two key players at times last season ... Crystal Robinson missed six games with a broken finger and Ann Wauters sat out the last 21 games of the season plus the playoffs with a broken foot ... Both players bounced back and are ready for the 2005 season.
HOME COURT (and STAGE) ADVANTAGE The Liberty and Shock met four times in the 2004 regular season, splitting the series 2-2 ... Apparently the cities of New York and Detroit did provide a true home court advantage for their respective teams ... The Liberty won its two games in its two 2004 NYC homes, Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall ... The Shock won both games at The Palace in Detroit.
LEADER BOARD In their 2004 series, New York and Detroit were led in scoring by Elena Baranova and Swin Cash, respectively ... Baranova averaged 14.0 ppg over the course of the four games, while Cash was slightly above that with 14.3 ppg ... Baranova was also the leading rebounder in the series for the Liberty, averaging 8.25 rpg ... Cheryl Ford led the Shock with 11 boards per game.
2005 WNBA DRAFT With the 10th pick in the 2005 WNBA Draft, the Liberty selected Loree Moore from the University of Tennessee ... In the second and third rounds, the team picked Tabitha Pool and Rebecca Richman with the 23rd and 36th overall picks ... Moore averaged 6.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg and 3.6 apg while leading the Lady Vols to the Final Four each of her four years ... Pool finished her career at Michigan with a 12 point and seven rebound average ... Richman led Rutgers to the Elite Eight during the 2004 NCAA Tournament and recorded a team-high 36 blocks during her senior season while shooting .415 from the field.
LIBERTY DOMINANT OVERSEAS Several players had successful stints overseas during the WNBA off-season ...Shameka Christon and Crystal Robinson led their Elizur Ramla team to the Israeli Championship ... Christon was named MVP of the Finals for her stellar performances... Ann Wauters won the Russian Championship with her VBM-SGAU SAMARA team ...SAMARA defeated Wauters' Liberty teammate Elena Baranova and Dynamo Moscow for the title.
MORE OFF-SEASON SUCCESS During the off-season, Becky Hammon played for the Colorado Chill of the NWBL ...Not only did she lead the team to the league's Championship, but she was named the MVP of the Championship Game ... Hammon averaged more than 23 points and six assists per game and helped the Chill finish 18-8.
HOME SWEET HOME-AWAY-FROM-HOME The Liberty made history in 2004, becoming the first-ever professional sports team to play a team athletic event in the historic Radio City Music Hall ... Due to the requirements of the Republican National Convention, held at Madison Square Garden, the Liberty called The Hall home for six games ... The team was 5-1 during its stay at The Hall.
ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE Vickie Johnson finished 2004 as one of only 12 players in the WNBA to remain from the league's inaugural season ... She was selected by the Liberty in the 1997 Draft as the 12th overall pick ... Since then, VJ ranks third in minutes (7,927), sixth in field goals (1,115) and sixth in assists (695) on the WNBA all-time top-10 lists ...Johnson has been named an All-Star on two occasions, in 1999 and 2001.
MILESTONES Becky Hammon tallied her 1,500th career point last season on September 12 against San Antonio ... Crystal Robinson is just six rebounds shy of 500 in her career ...Vickie Johnson needs 107 points to post 3,000 in her career ... She also needs just 65 rebounds to hit 1,000.
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