New York Liberty game notes
July 6, 2005 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
New York Liberty News Release
New York Liberty vs. Connecticut Sun
July 7, 2005 - 7:30 p.m.
New York has spent the last two games on the road, including a big 67-55 win over the Los Angeles Sparks last night. So come welcome the team back home tomorrow! The Liberty returns to Madison Square Garden on Thursday to host the Connecticut Sun at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Conference All-Stars Becky Hammon and Ann Wauters will take on the Sun in a re-match of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals. Come wish Becky and Ann well before they head off to the All-Star Game this weekend!
Stock up on your Liberty merchandise when you're at the game tomorrow! Swing by the Team Store, where you can get select hats for just $10. Plus, On Court items are buy one, get one half price. Take your pick of short and long sleeve wing tee shirts, D-Train tee shirts or classic navy hats - all for only $15. For Thursday only, with every $25 purchase you will receive a free pair of Liberty socks.
Make a night of it at The Garden! Grab some dinner at the game - stop in at Play by Play and save $2 on all sandwiches, as well as enjoy margaritas for only $4. You can also save $1.50 on every large order of french fries at the concession stands.
Save on parking at The Garden on Thursday! Park at the Meyers indoor lot on 31st Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues, and pay just $20 with your ticket stub or proof of payment to the game.
Get in on all the excitement of Thursday's game! Purchase your tickets now at the MSG Box Office, by phone at 877-WNBA-TIX or online at nyliberty.com.
See you Thursday at The Garden!
The Match-Up
New York hosts the Connecticut Sun tomorrow at Madison Square Garden ... Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ... This will be the first meeting between the two Eastern Conference teams this season ... The Liberty is currently 6-7 (.462) after a 67-55 win over Los Angeles on Tuesday.
All-Time History vs. Connecticut Sun (12-9)
New York has a winning all-time record against the Connecticut Sun, formerly the Orlando Miracle ... The Liberty has won 12 of the 21 games the two teams have played since 1999 ... New York was 8-5 against the Orlando Miracle from 1999-2002 and has been 4-4 against the Sun since the team moved to Connecticut in 2003 ... The teams met four times in 2004 and split the season series.
Next Up
The Liberty travels to Houston on July 12 to face the Comets ... The team then returns to The Garden on July 15 to host the Minnesota Lynx at 7:30 p.m. before embarking on a four game road trip.
Team Notes
HEY NOW, YOU'RE AN ALL-STAR
The Liberty will be well represented at the 2005 WNBA All-Star Game this weekend ... Point guard Becky Hammon will be starting for the Eastern Conference, while center Ann Wauters will come off the bench for the squad .... This will be the two players' third and first All-Star appearances, respectively ... The Game is being played on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT ... It will air live on ABC at 4:00 p.m.
BACK TO THE WINNING WAYS
The Liberty's win over Los Angeles on Tuesday broke a losing streak against the Sparks ... New York had not defeated LA since July 18, 2002 ... The win at the Staples Center was the first for the Liberty in LA since June 21, 1998.
GETTING EVERYONE INVOLVED
Four Liberty players scored in double figures in Tuesday's win in Los Angeles ... Ann Wauters and Becky Hammon scored 12 points apiece, while Shameka Christon added 10 and Vickie Johnson netted 18 ... This was the fourth game in 2005 that the Liberty has had four double-digit scorers in a game ... They did so on June 12 against Detroit, as well as both June 1 and June 5 against Washington ... New York is a perfect 4-0 this season when four players hit double-digits.
DOUBLE SCOOP
Opponents have been getting a double dose of Liberty center Ann Wauters ... Her 12 points in Los Angeles on Tuesday was the eighth consecutive game that she has scored in double digits ... Wauters has scored in double figures in 11 of the 13 games the Liberty has played so far in 2005 ... All those points are adding up -- Wauters now leads the team in scoring with 13.5 ppg.
ASSISTED LIVING
Becky Hammon's 10 assists in Tuesday's game in Los Angeles tied a career high ... She had previously recorded 10 helpers on June 29, 2004 against none-other than LA ... Hammon's 10 dishes broke her 2005 high of nine ... She passed out nine assists on two occasions: June 10 against Indiana and June 21 against San Antonio ... Hammon's 4.7 apg ranks her sixth in the WNBA.
PERFECTION
The Liberty was perfect from the charity stripe in Tuesday's win over the Sparks ... The team hit all 14 of the free throws it attempted ... This was the second time this season New York has been perfect from the line ... The Liberty was 6-6 on June 10 in Indiana.
DOUBLE TIME
Becky Hammon became the fourth Liberty player on Tuesday to record a double-double this season ... She recorded 12 points and 10 assists in the 67-55 win over Los Angeles ... She joins Elena Baranova, Ann Wauters and Vickie Johnson in the double-double club ... Baranova posted 12 points to go along with 10 rebounds against San Antonio on July 2 ... In the June 18 game against Phoenix, Wauters had her second straight double-double when she posted 19 points and 10 rebounds ... She had 12 points to go along with 11 rebounds on June 12 against Detroit ... Johnson recorded her double-double on June 1 against Washington ... She nabbed 23 points and 10 rebounds in that game.
THE DEFENSE DOES NOT REST
New York's stifling defense on Tuesday kept Sparks superstar Chamique Holdsclaw in check ... She scored just 10 points to go along with four rebounds, quite a reduction in her normal performance ... Holdsclaw had been averaging 20 ppg and 8 rpg going into the Liberty game and was the only player in the WNBA to average 20 points ... The 10 points the Liberty held Holdsclaw to was her lowest point production of the season.
MEETING ADJOURNED
When the Liberty and Sparks played on Tuesday, the game featured a meeting of three members of a very elite WNBA club ... New York's Vickie Johnson and LA's Lisa Leslie and Chamique Holdsclaw are three of the nine WNBA players to have reached the 3,000 career point mark ... Johnson came out on top of the match-up, having recorded 18 points and seven rebounds compared to Leslie's 17 points and four boards and Holdsclaw's 10 points and four rebounds.
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Thursday's game between New York and Connecticut will be a re-match of the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals ... The two teams have not met since the playoff series ... The Sun won the series, 2-0.
EXCLUSIVE CLUB
For the third time in four games, Vickie Johnson will play a fellow member of the exclusive 3,000 point club .... On Thursday she will face Connecticut's Nykesha Sales, who became the ninth player in WNBA history to reach 3,000 on June 28 ... Johnson played fellow 3,000-ers Lisa Leslie and Chamique Holdsclaw on July 5 and Yolanda Griffith on June 30 ... The players are joined by Tina Thompson, Katie Smith, Sheryl Swoopes and Andrea Stinson in the 3,000 point club.
HELPING HANDS
Liberty players have an affinity for dishing out the assists against Connecticut, which was formerly the Orlando Miracle ... Vickie Johnson and Crystal Robinson both set their career highs for assists against the organization ... Johnson handed out eight helpers on August 4, 2000 when the team was still in Orlando ... Robinson passed for six assists on July 1, 2003 against the Sun.
HOME IS WHERE THE WIN IS
The Liberty has enjoyed a home court, and stage, advantage over the Sun ... The team is 7-3 against the Sun in New York ... The last Liberty win came at Radio City Music Hall on July 31, 2004 ... New York defeated the Sun, 80-66, at the Liberty's second home ... The team was playing at Radio City Music Hall while the Republican National Convention was taking place at Madison Square Garden.
THE LEADER BOARD
The Liberty and Sun met four times last season and split the season series ... Crystal Robinson led the Liberty in scoring, putting up 15.8 ppg during the four games ... Lindsay Whalen topped the Sun scorers, having averaged 13.0 ppg against New York ... Elena Baranova was a monster on the boards against Connecticut in 2004, pulling down 35 rebounds over the course of the four games ... Taj McWilliams-Franklin led the Sun with 26 rebounds in the series.
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