Storm-Liberty Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Aug 08 2011 3:38PM

The Seattle Storm and New York Liberty are looking to bounce back from weekend losses.

It's safe to say that Seattle is the team with more to improve upon based on its effort in its last game.

The visiting Storm hope to clean up their sloppy play and defeat the Liberty for the sixth straight time Tuesday night.

Both clubs dropped to 12-9 as Seattle lost 70-53 at Atlanta on Sunday while New York fell 91-81 on Saturday at lowly Washington.

The Storm had 29 turnovers to match the most in the WNBA this year. The starting backcourt of Sue Bird and Tanisha Wright combined for six points, five assists and 12 turnovers.

"We had 16 turnovers in the first half, 10 of those in the first quarter," coach Brian Agler said. "We are not a team that can overcome stuff like that. We have to be efficient with the basketball."

Seattle continues to play without injured superstar Lauren Jackson and was outscored 20-2 in second-chance points against the taller, athletic Dream.

The Storm fell to 4-8 on the road but believe they match up better against the Liberty.

"The next game will be a challenge in a different way, we play New York," Bird said. "Hopefully this game helps us prepare for the defensive intensity that we will face against New York."

Although Jackson isn't available, that doesn't necessarily give the Liberty a major advantage. She was out with a mild concussion the last time these teams met, and Seattle placed four starters in double figures in a 78-70 victory July 6, 2010.

These clubs are in third place in their respective conferences and looking to solidify their playoff position. Seattle is one-half game behind second-place San Antonio in the race for home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason while New York is 1 1/2 games behind second-place Connecticut in the East.

The Liberty were outrebounded 32-20 on Saturday, allowed the Mystics to shoot 56.0 percent in the first half, and never recovered after trailing by 12 at the break.

"We've been playing every other night with no practice time, and they haven't, and they were at home," coach John Whisenant said. "I worried about all this - that's what kept me awake last night. But it didn't do much good."

Cappie Pondexter, sixth in the league with 17.1 points per game, led New York with 21.

It's unclear whether forward Kara Braxton will make her Liberty debut. Braxton was acquired Thursday from Phoenix for forward Sidney Spencer and was not with the team in Washington.

Pondexter lifts Liberty to 58-56 win over Storm

By VIN A. CHERWOO
Posted Aug 10 2011 12:08AM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) With their offense faltering again, the New York Liberty used another strong defensive effort to grind out a win.

Cappie Pondexter scored 19 points, including the go-ahead layup with 41 seconds remaining, and the Liberty held off the Seattle Storm 58-56 Tuesday night. Plenette Pierson had nine points and eight rebounds to help New York (13-9) win for the third time in four games.

Seattle got three shots off in the final 20 seconds, and Essence Carson got a key block on Sue Bird's final attempt as time expired.

``Any time the game goes down to the wire like that, the final 3 seconds, it shows you the intensity and level of play that game was,'' Pondexter said.

After Pondexter put New York ahead in the final minute, Bird missed a 3-pointer from the right corner with 20 seconds to go. A lengthy timeout followed while the officials reviewed the play for possession, and eventually ruled the ball went off the Liberty's Nicole Powell with 17 seconds on the clock.

New York coach John Whisenant said Pondexter implored her teammates during the final timeout to keep up their intensity, repeatedly telling them, ``This is why we practice defense.''

``It's what we do,'' Pondexter said. ``It's not going to change. ... We know that at the end, if anything prevails, its going to be our defense. I just wanted to continue to remind us that's what we're about. When the game's on the line like that, if we get stops, we can basically win the game.''

Bird then missed a short jumper inside the free throw line with about 10 seconds left. The ball was knocked out of bounds by New York and Seattle's Swin Cash missed a layup on a play Pondexter anticipated and defended.

``I had just told Plenette that was capable of happening,'' Pondexter said. ``They knew we were defending Sue pretty tough ... Swin, she was open, i saw it ... and i was able to get to it and contest it.''

Pierson made 1 of 2 free thows with 3 seconds to go, and Carson secured the win with her third block of the game.

Bird finished with 17 points, including five 3-pointers, and Tanisha Wright and Katie Smith had 11 apiece for Seattle (12-10), which had won five of their previous seven. The Storm, who dropped to 4-9 on the road, were 31 percent from the field (21 for 68), including 8 for 21 on 3s.

``It shouldn't have come to that last play,'' Bird said. ``We got a lot of good looks, not just at the end, but throughout.''

The Liberty were held below 60 points for the fourth time this season, and won for the second time in less than a week under those circumstances. New York beat Chicago 59-49 last Thursday when they outscored the Sky 16-1 in the fourth quarter.

``It seems like we were playing defense the whole time,'' Whisenant said of the final 20 seconds. ``That's what I've been preaching to this team since I got here. ... If you can't play defense you can't win these kinds of battles.''

Wright made a technical free throw to start an 8-1 run that gave the Storm a 56-55 lead with 1:37 remaining. Smith's 3 pulled the Storm within one and Robinson's layup put them ahead.

Pondexter started a 6-0 run by making 1 of 2 from the line - New York's first attempts of the second half - with 6:42 left in regulation. Quanitra Hollingsworth made a hook shot, Carson had a layup and Hollingsworth made a free throw with 4 1/2 minutes to go for a 54-48 lead.

The Storm scored the first six points of the fourth quarter to take a 46-44 lead on Wright's jumper with 8 1/2 minutes left in the game. It was Seattle's first advantage since 7-4.

Former Liberty star Rebecca Lobo was inducted into the team's ``Ring of Honor'' during a halftime ceremony. Lobo, currently an analyst for ESPN, was one of the first players - along with Teresa Weatherspoon - assigned to the franchise and averaged 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds in 75 games over four seasons with New York.

Lobo, selected in fan balloting, is the fourth player inducted into the Ring, joining former teammates Vickie Johnson, Weatherspoon and Sue Wicks, who were honored earlier this summer. Johnson, Weatherspoon, Wicks and Kym Hampton - who will be inducted on Aug. 30 - were selected by a special committee.

Seattle trailed by eight points late in the first half, before tying the score in the third quarter. Le'Coe Willingham made 1 of 2 from the line with 4:42 to go in the period - Seattle's first free-throw attempts of the game - and Smith hit a 3 nearly a minute later to tie the score at 38-all.

Pondexter hit consecutive jumpers and Kia Vaughn made 1 of 2 from the line to give the Liberty an eight point lead with under 3 minutes let in the second quarter. But Wright made a jumper and Bird's fourth 3 pulled the Storm to 32-29 at the break.

• Storm: --
• Liberty: --

• Storm: --
• Liberty: Pierson

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 7

• Arena: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
• Officials: #8 Daryl Humphrey, #55 Eric Brewton, #44 Felicia Grinter
• Attendance: 6732
• Duration: 2:06