NWBL Face-off Highlights Week�s Off-season Competition

New York, NY - March 2, 2006 - Who needs to wait for training camp when there's the NWBL? You see, Becky Hammon, Cathrine Kraayeveld and Loree Moore don't have to wait for April to go up against each other on the hardwood. They're taking care of that right now in the NWBL.

The San Diego Seige, featuring Kraayeveld and Moore, has shot to the top of the league. At 7-1, the first-year team is three games ahead of its nearest competition, Hammon�s Colorado Chill (3-3). The two teams, and Liberty teammates, have met three times already this season, with the Seige being victorious each time. This past Sunday the most exciting of the match-ups occurred when the Seige defeated the Chill, 76-73, with a thrill from Moore in the final seconds. With the game tied, 73-73, and six seconds on the clock, Moore broke loose from her defender, took an open path to the basket for a lay-up, got fouled, and sank her free throw. Moore finished with 15 points and six assists, and Kraayeveld added 13 points and seven rebounds in the winning effort. Hammon led the Chill with 22 points and 5 assists in 40 minutes of play.

For the season, Hammon remains atop the league with 25.0 points and 7.0 assists per game, and ranks third in steals with 2.3. Kraayeveld is second in the league with 8.3 rebounds per game, while trailing only Hammon in the points category with 19.9. Moore rounds out our Liberty trio, averaging 8.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per contest. Be sure to check back next week as we will have all the details from the NWBL�s All-Star Game, being held Monday, March 6.

Overseas, the Liberty now has five players on five different teams in Spain. This past Saturday, Liberty newcomers Kelly Schumacher and Kiesha Brown faced-off as Schumacher�s Perfumerias Avenida defeated Brown�s Hondarribia-Irun, 68-61. Schumacher finished with 10 points and six rebounds in 30 minutes, while Brown tallied 15 points in 35 minutes. For the season, both players have participated in 20 games. Schumacher is averaging 13.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 31.5 minutes. Brown has registered 13.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 33.1 minutes per game.

Also in Spain, Ashley Battle, Iciss Tillis, and Liene Jansone's teams all played one game this past week. Battle�s Universitario de Ferrol lost to Ros Casares Valencia, 77-49. In the game, Battle grabbed five rebounds in 13 minutes. She is averaging 11.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in 20 games. Tillis scored 15 points and added nine rebounds in 34 minutes, leading her team, Acis Incosa Leon, to a 70-64 victory against Universitat de Barcelona. In seven games, Tillis is averaging 15.6 points and 9.1 boards in 36.1 minutes of action. Jansone�s Yaya Maria Porta XI was defeated by Arranz-Jopisa Burgos, 75-59. In 31 minutes, Jansone contributed seven points and six rebounds, bring her season averages to 17.0 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.

The newest face on the Liberty roster, Barbara Farris, has been playing in France for Saint Amand les Eaux, where she is averaging 11.0 points, 8.0 boards, and 33.3 minutes in three games.

Finally, in Israel, Shameka Christon continues her impressive play for Raanana Hertzliya. In her team�s latest game on Monday, Christon contributed 23 points and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes. For the season, she has registered 15.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 10 games.

Newcomer Emilie Gomis has been playing overseas in France for ESB Lille Metropole while Svetlana Volnaya is with USK Praha in the Czech Republic. Neither team was in action this past week.

Check back to nyliberty.com next week for another update on your favorite players' off-season action.