NEWARK, N.J. -- The New York Liberty were fired up after a 23-point loss at Indiana the previous night gave them the longest winless start in franchise history.
Cappie Pondexter scored 25 points to lead the Liberty to an 87-72 victory over the Fever on Sunday night. Essence Carson and Plenette Pierson each scored 16 points and Leilani Mitchell had 13 for New York (1-5).
"We were extra motivated; everybody was angry," Pondexter said. "We finally got a win under our belt. . . . We're happy about it. Winning changes everything."
The Liberty, who shot 44 percent (31-of-70), led by double digits from late in the second quarter until the Fever made a run down the stretch in the fourth.
After Kia Vaughn's jumper with 6:20 to go put the Liberty ahead 75-58, matching its largest lead of the game, the Fever used a 12-2 run to pull within seven with 3:20 to go.
However, Pondexter scored nine points as the Liberty outscored the Fever 12-6 the rest of the way to seal the victory.
"I knew we weren't going to lose," Pondexter said. "We made a lot of mistakes in our previous five games, where we knew we had the game and then lost it down the stretch. . . . But today we stuck together. I think that's a real positive. . . . I think any (opposing) team would have lost tonight."
New York was 9-of-19 (47 percent) from beyond the arc and finished with 20 assists and 12 steals. After being outscored by an average of 17.4 points in their first five games, the Liberty finished with their highest total of the season.
"We got back to what gives us a chance to compete with anybody in the league, and that is our defense," New York coach John Whisenant said. "Everyone learned from last night. . . . We had even distribution of our scoring. When we play defense harder, our offense is better."
Tamika Catchings scored 19 points and Katie Douglas had 15 for the Fever (4-1). Briann January added 12 and Shavonte Zellous 10.
Indiana shot 40 percent (23-for-57), including 7-of-19 on 3-pointers. The Fever committed 22 turnovers, which led to 27 points for the Liberty.
"Give New York all the credit in the world," Indiana coach Lin Dunn said. "I thought they responded to the loss last night in Indiana. They came out very intense, very aggressive. Played probably the best defense we've seen all season, got in our passing lanes, jammed our cutters and we didn't respond well to their defensive intensity."
"They came out really aggressive and we didn't handle the pressure well," Catchings said.
No comments:
Post a Comment