WNBA New York Liberty

New York Liberty Game Notes: Game #18 at Indiana Fever - Wednesday, July 29 - 7 pm

Published on July 28, 2015 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
New York Liberty News Release


NEW YORK LIBERTY (12-5) at INDIANA FEVER (8-8)

Wednesday, July 29 - Indianapolis, Ind. (Bankers Life Fieldhouse)

Broascast: WNBA Live Access

The New York Liberty will open the second half of the season by wrapping up a four-game road swing at the Indiana Fever on Wednesday, July 29, at 7 p.m. It will be the third meeting of the year between these two squads, having split a pair of games at Madison Square Garden back in June. In just the third game of the season, New York used a 24-13 3rd quarter to pick up an 86-79 win on June 9, but 10 days later the Fever would jump out to a 32-12 lead through one quarter of play and score an 80-63 equalizer. Both teams were without key components in those early matchups, with Epiphanny Prince and Shavonte Zellous absent.

LIBERTY LEAD EAST THROUGH MIDWAY POINT

New York holds a one-game lead over the Chicago Sky for first place in a tight Eastern Conference through the midway point of the season. After a 59-53 win at Los Angeles heading into the All-Star break, the Liberty improved to 12-5 overall, the best start for the franchise since 2001. New York has won five in a row, the longest such streak for the franchise since 2010, which was also the last time it won three-straight road games. The Liberty has won 8-of-9 overall thanks in part to the dominant play of All-Star center Tina Charles and suffocating defense. New York leads the league in defensive field goal percentage (.374) and Charles has been a force during the five-game winning streak, averaging 19.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game during that span.

ANATOMY OF A WINNING STREAK

New York has won five games in a row for the first time since 2010 and it should come as no surprise that this success if due thanks in large part to stifling defense and dominance on the glass. Over the past five games, New York is allowing just 65.6 points per game and holding a +7.0 scoring advantage over the opposition. The rebounding numbers are even more astounding. Including team rebounds, New York is averaging an incredible 52.4 rebounds per game over the past five games, compared to just 39.2 for its opponents, a +13.2 margin on the glass. All-Star Tina Charles has been a standout individually, averaging a double-double with 19.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game during the winning streak.

LAST TIME OUT - NEW YORK 59, LOS ANGELES 53

The Liberty have now won five games in a row for the first time since Aug. 6, 2010.

New York continued to build on its best start since 2001, entering the All-Star break at 12-5. In 2001 New York started 16-5.

Epiphanny Prince has scored in double figures in all seven games since making her season debut on July 9.

New York improved to 2-1 this season in the second game of a back-to-back.

The Liberty had 19 offensive rebounds compared to 3 for the Sparks, resulting in 16 second chance points to LA's 4.

New York swept the season series with LA for the first time since 2010.

There was not a three-pointer in this game until Kristi Toliver's long ball at the 25 second mark of the fourth quarter.

Tina Charles recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 14 points and 14 rebounds.

The Liberty bench outscored the Sparks' bench 30-6.

BATTLE OF THE BENCH

One of New York's other strength's this season has been its depth and productivity off the bench. The Liberty are averaging 27.6 ppg from its bench, which ranks third in the WNBA, and has outpaced the opposition in bench scoring in 13-of-17 games. However, Indiana leads the league in bench points with 28.3 per game and in two meetings with New York has held a decisive edge in scoring from its second unit. The Fever's bench outscored New York's in both meetings so far this year, holding a cumulative edge of 77-48, boasting two of the four times the Liberty's reserves have been outscored this season.

PROTECTING THE ROCK

After committing a season-high 26 turnovers at Tulsa on June 26, New York sat at 4-4 overall and was averaging a league-leading 18.5 turnovers per game. The Liberty bounced back with just nine turnovers in the next game, a home win over Los Angeles, which signified a trend reversal in terms of protecting the basketball. Over the past nine games, including the win over the Sparks, New York is turning the ball over just 13.0 times per game, a decrease of 5.5 turnovers per game. The Liberty are 8-1 during that stretch.

QUIET CONTRIBUTOR

Guard Epiphanny Prince has not had an explosive offensive performance as of yet, but her consistency scoring the basketball since making her season debut at Washington on July 9, has a lot to do with New York's current winning streak. Prince has scored in double figures in all seven games this year, which included a season-high 17 in a win at Phoenix, with four points in the final 30 seconds and the game-winning free throws with 1.7 to play. Not surprisingly, her Raw Plus/Minus is +25, which ranks fourth on the team.

LIBERTY PARTNERS WITH OLYMPIC GYMNAST NASTIA LIUKIN TO HOST "SHINE TOUR" EVENT

On Friday, August 21, the New York Liberty will partner with Olympic gold medal winning gymnast Nastia Liukin to host a stop on her "Shine Tour" at Madison Square Garden. Liukin has been traveling the country, interacting with girls of all ages to share her story and talk about what challenges they are facing. The goal of this inspirational event is that each girl will leave feeling inspirted to SHINE in their own life. After the presentation everyone in attendance will have a chance to meet with Nastia, ask questions, take pictures and attend the Liberty's game against the Atlanta Dream. More information can be found at nyliberty.com or theshinetour.org.

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