WNBA New York Liberty

Liberty to Face Silver Stars Tomorrow

June 20, 2005 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
New York Liberty News Release


The Liberty will be going for its fourth straight home win tomorrow when the team hosts the San Antonio Silver Stars. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden. Come celebrate the first official day of summer with the Liberty!

While you're at the game, stop by the Team Store and stock up on Liberty paraphernalia. For Tuesday only, you can save 25% off all Liberty practice wear - plus receive a FREE pair of Liberty socks with each practice wear purchase! If you're hungry, swing past the concession stands and save $1.25 on onion rings. Plus, make sure to stop in at Play by Play for specials on wings - a double order for just $6.95 - and receive $2 off all mixed drinks. Park at the Meyers indoor lot on 31st Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues, on Tuesday and pay just $20 with your ticket stub or proof of payment to the game!

Great seats are still available! Purchase your tickets now to cheer on Becky Hammon and the Liberty tomorrow. You can get yours at the MSG Box Office, by phone at 877-WNBA-TIX or online at nyliberty.com [http://msgnyc.com/index.cfm?n35043s698c12475238t690e21240304o1140].

See you tomorrow at The Garden!




TOMORROW'S GAME
New York faces the San Antonio Silver Stars tomorrow, June 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Madison Square Garden ... This will be the first meeting between the two teams in 2005 ... The Liberty is currently 4-4 (.500) after a 65-54 win over Phoenix on June 18.

UP NEXT
The Liberty hit the road on Saturday to play in Charlotte at 6:00 p.m. ... The game will air live on WWRL 1600AM ... The team then returns home to The Garden on Thursday, June 30 to face the Sacramento Monarchs at 7:30 p.m.

ALL-TIME HISTORY VS. SAN ANTONIO (11-4)
New York has won the majority of its games against the San Antonio Silver Stars, formerly the Utah Starzz... The Liberty is 11-4 all-time against the organization ... New York was 8-4 against Utah from 1997-2002 and has been 3-0 since the team moved to San Antonio in 2003 ... The two teams faced off twice in 2004 ... New York won both games, claiming a 62-57 win in San Antonio and a 64-62 victory at Radio City Music Hall.



TEAM NOTES

AMONG THE ELITE
With 1:49 remaining in Saturday's game against Phoenix, Vickie Johnson hit a left-handed lay-up to score her 13th and 14th points of the game ... More importantly, the key bucket put Johnson over the 3,000 point mark for her career, making her just the seventh player in the history of the WNBA to do so ... The nine-year veteran joins the following players in the 3,000 point club:

Lisa Leslie -- 4,358
Tina Thompson -- 3,699
Katie Smith -- 3,470
Sheryl Swoopes -- 3,462
Andrea Stinson -- 3,342
Chamique Holdsclaw -- 3,157

ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE
Vickie Johnson is the only remaining original member of the Liberty ... She is one of just eight players in the WNBA to remain from the league's inaugural year in 1997 and is one of six to have played for the same team for the duration ... Her 8,190 minutes played is the most by any player all-time in the league ... The 256 games Johnson has played in her career is second only to Andrea Stinson, who has played in 262 games.

LOVING THE SPOTLIGHT
The Liberty is 2-0 on national television so far this year ... New York defeated Detroit on June 12, a game that was covered on ESPN2 ... The team defeated Phoenix on Saturday on ABC ... Liberty games will be aired nationally three more times this season: July 12 in Houston; August 6 against Seattle and August 20 in Connecticut.

THE DEFENSE DOES NOT REST
The Liberty's stifling defense has kept opposing stars in check ... On Saturday, New York held Phoenix superstar Diana Taurasi to just 13 points ... She had been averaging nearly 19 ppg going into Saturday's game ... The Liberty kept Detroit's All-Star Ruth Riley scoreless on June 12 and limited her to just one rebound ... The Shock center had been averaging 8.3 ppg and 5.5 rpg going into the team's game with the Liberty.

SEEING DOUBLE
In Saturday's game against Phoenix, Ann Wauters recorded her second straight double-double ... She posted 19 points, which ties her season best, and 10 rebounds ... She had 12 points to go along with 11 rebounds on June 12 against Detroit ... Wauters is one of two Liberty players to have notched a double-double so far this season ... Vickie Johnson recorded the other New York double-double of 2005 on June 1 against Washington ... She nabbed 23 points and 10 rebounds.

WATCH OUT FOR PICK-POCKETERS
Becky Hammon continues to wreak havoc on opposing teams' offenses ... For the second straight game, she has set season highs for steals ... Hammon had six take-aways on Saturday in the win over Phoenix ... That mark surpassed her previous season high, which she had just set in the team's last game on June 12 against Detroit, when she picked off five passes.

NOT IN HER HOUSE
Elena Baranova set a season high in blocked shots on Saturday against Phoenix ... She swatted away four Mercury shots during the game ... Her previous season best was three blocked shots, which she did twice, on June 3 in Detroit and June 10 in Indiana ... Baranova also set a season high for rebounds on Saturday ... She grabbed eight boards against the Mercury, passing her previous 2005 best of six, set on June 10 against Indiana.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
New York is going for its fourth straight home win today when San Antonio comes into town... The Liberty has won its last three games at Madison Square Garden ... New York defeated Washington, 61-58, on June 5; Detroit, 72-69, on June 12 and Phoenix, 65-54, on Saturday.

LEADING THE WAY
New York and San Antonio met twice in 2004 ... Becky Hammon led the Liberty in scoring for the series, averaging 13.5 ppg for the two games ... Adrienne Goodson was the top scorer for the Silver Stars in the team's two games against New York, as she averaged 15 ppg ... La'Keshia Frett was the Liberty leading rebounder with nine in just one game played against San Antonio ... LaToya Thomas led the Silver Stars with 15 boards during the two games.



HIGHS AND LOWS
In the 15 games between the Liberty and Silver Stars, New York has posted both its highest and lowest point production when the organization was still in Utah ... The two teams' highest points against each other came on July 18, 1999 in an 88-82 game ... New York's lowest point total against the then-Utah Starzz was 60 points, recorded on June 15, 1998 ... Utah scored just 53 points, its lowest against New York, on July 5, 1997 ... Former Liberty player Rebecca Lobo had the best single game performance against the Starzz on August 19, 1997, when she notched 27 points against the team ... Former Utah player Natalie Williams scored 24 against New York on July 18, 1999.

ROCKY TOP REUNION
Former University of Tennesse stand-outs Loree Moore, now with New York, and Shyra Ely, now with San Antonio, will be reunited with tomorrow's game ... The two former Lady Vols both graduated this spring from UT after stellar careers playing under Pat Summitt ... The two-some led the Lady Vols to four Final Fours during their tenure at the University.

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS
New York has recorded its best rebounding game of 2005 against Detroit ... The Liberty pulled down 35 boards in the June 3 game against the Shock ... The Liberty also posted 35 rebounds in the June 5 win over Washington ... The Liberty's 10 offensive boards against the Shock on both June 12 and June 3 ties the team's best for 2005 ... New York also recorded 10 offensive rebounds in the June 5 Mystics game.

MILESTONES
Crystal Robinson recorded her 500th career rebound in on May 26 against Indiana ... Vickie Johnson posted her 3,000th career point on Saturday against Phoenix ... She also needs 29 rebounds to hit 1,000.

READY TO RUN
The Liberty went on a 14-0 run in its 61-58 win over Washington on June 5, the team's biggest of the 2005 season ... Down 36-25, Vickie Johnson started the scoring spurt with a lay-up at the 15:45 mark in the second half ... The team rattled off 14 unanswered points, capped by a pair of Ann Wauters free throws with 9:45 left to give New York a 39-36 lead ... The second biggest run the Liberty has gone on is 10-0, which the team has done three times thus far this season, in both games against Detroit and on Friday against Indiana.

A GAME OF BESTS
The June 1 win in Washington was the Liberty's best showing in several categories so far this season ... New York posted both its highest field goal and three-point percentages, .554 and .571, respectively ... The Liberty dished for 19 assists in the game, a season high.

Check out the New York Liberty Statistics



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 20, 2005


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