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2002 Results: The Liberty finished 18-14 (.563, tied for first in East) and advanced to the WNBA Finals. Roster | Stats | 2003 Schedule Purchase Liberty Tickets Now! WNBA 2003 Season Preview

2003 Probable Starters: C: Tari Phillips PF: Tamika Whitmore SF: Crystal Robinson SG: Vickie Johnson PG: Teresa Weatherspoon

2003 Draft Results: Rd. 1: Molly Creamer Rd. 2: Erin Thorn Rd. 2: Sonja Mallory Rd. 2: K.B. Sharp Rd. 3: Nicole Kaczmarski D.D.*: Elena Baranova

2002 Leaders: Pts. Tari Phillips, 14.1 ppg Reb. Tari Phillips, 7.7 rpg Asst. Teresa Weatherspoon, 5.7 apg Blocks Tamika Whitmore, 1.34 bpg Steals Tari Phillips, 1.81 spg

Head Coach: Richie Adubato enters his fifth season with the team, and has an 77-51 (.602) career coaching record.

They Said It: "I am sick of coming up short. Things happen for a reason and it just wasn't our time." --Whitmore, following New York's fourth defeat in the WNBA Championship

(*-Denotes "Dispersal Draft")

Could this be the year the trophy takes Manhattan?

Phillips

The New York Liberty, Eastern Conference champions in three of the WNBA's first six seasons, have yet to win a title, but with a 2003 roster boasting postseason experience and star power, they look to be in the mix once again come playoff time.

Last season's starting five -- including center Tari Phillips and point guard Teresa Weatherspoon, both All-Stars in 2002 -- remains intact, with the majority of the offense coming from Phillips and forward Tamika Whitmore. The duo combined to average 26.8 points per game last year, more than 40 percent of the Liberty's total output. With both players only getting better, New York will continue to run its offense through the low post.

Perhaps more importantly, the Liberty also have the firepower from the outside for that style to be effective. Crystal Robinson and Vickie Johnson both contribute double-figure scoring, and Johnson ranked fourth in the WNBA in three-point percentage last year, shooting .421 from long-range. Becky Hammon, also a top-20 three-point shooter, gets loads of playing time off the bench.

On the other hand, New York hopes for more this season from its point guard. While Weatherspoon dished out 5.7 assists per game (third in the league) and was voted an All-Star starter in 2002, she had a disappointing season shooting the ball, averaging just 3.4 points on .342 from the field, both career-lows.

As always, superior defense will key New York's success. During the Liberty's run to the Championship Series in 2002, they ranked second in the WNBA in points per game allowed (63.0) and third in opponents' field-goal percentage (.399). In addition, both Phillips and Robinson ranked among the league's top 20 in steals, and Whitmore emerged as a terrific one-on-one defender.

Where the Liberty needed help, they got it. The team was second to last in rebounding and 12th in blocks in 2002, and with the retirement of backup center Sue Wicks, it became all the more essential to find a player who could provide interior size and defense. So in the dispersal draft, New York took a gamble and grabbed center Elena Baranova with the 11th pick.

Baranova -- a four-year WNBA veteran -- was an All-Star in 2001, but she sat out both the 2000 and 2002 seasons, once due to pregnancy and once to play for the Russian national team. At 6-5, Baranova is the tallest player on the Liberty roster, and the team is banking that she'll match her career averages of 6.3 boards and 1.59 blocks per game.

In the WNBA Draft, the Liberty had five picks -- including three in the second round -- selecting Bucknell guard Molly Creamer at No. 10. An honorable mention All-American, Creamer is expected to back up Weatherspoon at the point.

In Round 2, New York took two more guards -- BYU's Erin Thorn and Cincinnati's K.B. Sharp -- and another good-sized center in 6-5 Sonja Mallory out of Georgia Tech. In her senior season, Mallory was named to both the All-ACC First Team and the ACC All-Defensive Team.

The Liberty made a surprising choice with their final pick, selecting guard Nicole Kaczmarski, a former high school star who hasn't played organized basketball in three years. Kaczmarski played one season at UCLA before a foot injury forced her to the bench, and now she looks to make the Liberty roster as a third-round pick.

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