New York Liberty game notes
Published on July 18, 2006 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
New York Liberty News Release
LAST TWO GAMES
GAME #20- July 16 - - Liberty 70, Phoenix 80: The two teams battled from the opening minutes of the match-up...They went shot-for-shot experiencing four ties and headed into the second quarter 15-19...Phoenix went on a push in the second quarter opening their lead to double-digits behind a 10-0 run...Liberty veterans Barbara Farris and Cathrine Kraayeveld kept New York in the game scoring a combined 10 points late in the quarter...The third quarter was more Phoenix as All-Star guard Diana Taurasi continued to dominate scoring eight of her game-high 29 points...Despite New York's strong defensive presence, with Shameka Christon blocking three shots in the quarter, the Liberty struggled to close the scoring gap between the two teams...The Liberty went on a final push in the fourth quarter shooting .615 from the field combined to the Mercury's .375...Loree Moore connected on a last second shot (0:16) that also earned her a shot from the line that closed out her career-high offensive night with 17 points...Phoenix was led by Taurasi who recorded a game-high 29 points (9-19 FGA, 9-12 FTA)...She also dished a game-high eight assists...New York had three players finish in double-figures led by Christon who recorded 18 points and a career-high six blocked shots...Rookie Sherill Baker had another stellar night recording 11 points and a career-high five steal.
GAME #19- July 14 - Liberty 66, Seattle 86: New York opened their four game road trip in Seattle with defense on the mind...A couple of early steals from Barbara Farris and Loree Moore kept the game close as the two teams battled in the opening minutes...Seattle jumped out on a 6-0 run mid-quarter that seemed to energize the Storm pushing them to a double-digit lead at the close of the quarter, 24-12...New York continued to try to get back into contention attacking the boards and asserting their offense...Despite the hot hand of Shameka Christon who added six points in the quarter and scrappy play of Christelle N'Garsanet with five points the Storm continued to keep their distance heading into the half, 49-28...Seattle opened the second half led by Lauren Jackson who was perfect from both the field (4-4 FGA) and the line (4-4 FTA)...As the Liberty attempted to get back into the game they sought help from Erin Thorn who contributed five bench-points in the frame...Despite the continued fight in the Liberty the Storm pushed out to their largest lead of the game, 64-32...New York found some fire in the fourth quarter connecting on 11-17 FGA (.647) that cut the Seattle lead, but wasn't enough at the end as Seattle cruised to an 86-66 victory...The Storm finished with four players in double-figures led by Jackson who finished with 26 (8-15 FGA, 9-9 FTA)...Christon led the Liberty with a team and career-high 25 points (8-16 FGA, 2-3 3FGA, 7-8 FTA)...Rookie Sherill Baker also finished with 10 points on the night.
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New York vs. Los Angeles
New York will travel to Los Angeles for its third game of a four-game West Coast trip...It is the second and final time this season the two teams will meet...The game will be broadcast live on ESPN 2...The Liberty is currently 4-16 holding the sixth place spot in the Eastern Conference...Los Angeles has a record of 18-5 and is currently in first place in the Western Conference.
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TEAM NOTES
LEADING THE PACK
Although the team has been struggling early on in the season, Becky Hammon and Loree Moore are both having successful individual seasons...Both players are in fact making their mark in the WNBA, ranking amongst the league's best in several statistical categories...Despite missing the last two games with an ankle injury, Hammon remains the top free throw shooter in the WNBA, with a .957 average ... She is also eighth in the league in assists averaging 3.8 apg, seventh in minutes (32.8 mpg) and 12th in points (15.4 ppg) ... Hammon's point average and free-throw percentage are the highest in her eight-year career ... Moore is 11th in the WNBA, and first on the Liberty, in steals (1.6 spg) ... She is ninth in the WNBA in assists (3.8 apg) and second on the team ... Although just 5'9", Moore is currently the third highest rebounder on the Liberty with 4.8 boards a game ... She is behind the 6'5" Kelly Schumacher and 6'3" Barb Farris.
WILL WORK FOR FREE
They say the best things in life are free, and apparently the Liberty couldn't agree more ... The Liberty is currently the second best free throw shooting team in the WNBA with a .781 average on the season ... Becky Hammon is having a career year from the line and is the top ranked free throw shooter (.957) in the league...New York has three players in the top 20, rookie Sherill Baker averaging .857 (10th) and Shameka Christon at .824 (16th) ... Baker is the third highest ranked rookie in free throw shooting ... Despite getting injured in the match-up with Phoenix, July 9, Hammon continues her impressive free-throw shooting going 66-69 on the season including a perfect 17-17 in her last four games.
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- New York Liberty game notes - New York Liberty
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