Sun-Liberty Preview

By MATT BEARDMORE
Posted Aug 15 2012 1:00PM

The Connecticut Sun entered the WNBA's Olympic break on their longest winning streak in four years.

Opening the second half of the season with a home-and-home set against the slumping New York Liberty could help the Eastern Conference leaders continue their surge.

Led by Olympic gold medalists Tina Charles and Asjha Jones, Connecticut goes for a sixth consecutive victory Thursday night in Newark, where the Liberty will try to avoid a fifth straight loss in this series.

With Charles posting her 12th double-double of the season with 25 points and 13 rebounds, the Sun (15-4) entered the month-long Olympic break July 13 with an 80-78 overtime victory at Chicago.

Connecticut, which holds a four-game conference lead over second-place Indiana, has won five in a row for the first time since a seven-game run July 20-Sept. 5, 2008.

While there will be plenty of concern around the league about player conditioning as the second half kicks off, Sun coach Mike Thibault won't have to worry about Charles and Jones, who spent the hiatus in London as part of the U.S. team that won its fifth straight Olympic gold.

The Sun forwards scored four points apiece in Saturday's 86-50 victory over France in the gold-medal game.

"It means everything," said Charles, the Sun leader with 18.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. "It means they put a great group of 12 girls together to go out there and get the job done and we did."

The Liberty (6-12) haven't been taking care of business, and they open the second half in fifth place in the East. The club entered the break with its third straight loss, 70-53 to conference-worst Washington.

New York, though, could get a boost with the return of third-leading scorer Plenette Pierson, who has missed the last eight games with calf and knee injuries. The veteran forward, averaging 11.2 points and 4.9 boards, has been practicing at 100 percent during the break, according to the Liberty's official website.

"She's like a coach out there, she's consistent, and she's in improved shape," assistant coach Monique Ambers said.

If New York is going to make a run at a third consecutive playoff appearance, it likely needs Cappie Pondexter to come up big in the second half. The four-time All-Star is third in the league in scoring with 20.0 points per game.

However, Pondexter finished with a season-low six the last time these teams met as the Liberty lost 97-55 in Connecticut on June 15. It was the most lopsided victory in Sun history and the worst loss in New York's 16 seasons in the WNBA.

The Liberty open a season-high five-game road trip Saturday when these teams conclude their season series.

Pondexter, Pierson help Liberty beat Sun 79-66

By VIN A. CHERWOO
Posted Aug 16 2012 10:42PM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) The New York Liberty's goal for the second half of the season is to win 11 of their remaining games. They got off to a good start in their return from the WNBA's Olympic break.

Cappie Pondexter scored 24 points to lead the Liberty to a 79-66 victory over the first-place Connecticut Sun on Thursday night.

Plenette Pierson, returning after missing the New York's last eight games before the hiatus due to a left knee strain, had 16 points to help the Liberty (7-12) snap a three-game skid.

``If we win 11 games we give ourselves a chance to make a playoff push,'' Pondexter said. ``It's attainable. Right now we got 10 to go. I really feel we have a chance to win some games on the road.''

The Liberty, who have 15 games remaining, play their next five on the road - starting with a rematch against Connecticut on Saturday night. They then close with seven of their last 10 at home.

Renee Montgomery scored 16 points, and Allison Hightower and Mistie Mims added 12 each for the Sun (15-5), who snapped a five-game winning streak.

``We struggled tonight,'' Connecticut coach Mike Thibault said. ``We shot terrible in the second half and we turned it over.''

Tina Charles, who helped lead the United States to a gold medal at the London Games, had just four points and 12 rebounds, while fellow Olympian Asjha Jones sat out due to a strained left Achilles' tendon - an injury she was dealing with before the break.

Connecticut dropped to 8-2 on the road and had its lead over second-place Indiana in the Eastern Conference cut to three games.

While the Olympic break helped teams like the Liberty get healthy and refreshed, Thibault believes it disrupted the Sun's momentum.

``It helped some players individually get some work in,'' he said, ``but it didn't help our team in the sense of having a rhythm because you're practicing every day without your two starting post players.''

New York scored the first six points of the third quarter to stretch a four-point halftime lead to double digits. Pierson had a layup and Pondexter made two baskets to make it 45-35 with about 7 minutes left in the period.

The Sun pulled within six points twice, but Leilani Mitchell countered with 3s both times to extend the Liberty's lead back out again. Mitchell finished 3 for 3 from beyond the arc.

``Everybody knows Leilani, when she shoots she has a pretty good chance to make it,'' Pondexter said. ``It's just a matter of her being aggressive. She's been putting up shots during the break. I really believe in her and I know her shots will take us a long way.''

Essence Carson had a layup and Pondexter followed with a steal and fast-break basket to extend the advantage to 59-46 with 1:41 remaining in the third.

New York's 8-2 run to open the fourth quarter stretched the lead to 67-50 with 6:54 remaining, and Connecticut got no closer than 11 the rest of the way.

Pondexter's 3 with 4:14 remaining put the Liberty up 73-54 for their largest lead of the game.

New York moved two games behind Chicago and Atlanta for third place in the East, and 7 1/2 behind the Sun.

``I don't think anybody's given up,'' Liberty coach John Whisenant said. ``We're still in it, you look at Chicago and Atlanta and Indiana that are just two or three games ahead of us. We just got to win ... We figure we got to get to .500, win 11 of our (remaining) games, and we've won one of them.''

Connecticut finished with a 39-30 rebounding edge, but committed 17 turnovers - which led to 19 points for New York. Whisenant was also pleased his team held Charles nearly 15 points below her season average.

``Tina Charles is the best rebounder in the league in the last 3 or four years,'' he said. ``She's a monster in there, she gets double digits and we're not going to match that. We don't have anyone who can do that. ... We did a good job keeping her out of (the scoring), and to do that we had to do relays because that's a physically wearing effort.''

Trailing by eight late in the first quarter, the Liberty used a 13-2 run to take a 25-22 lead with 5:22 to go before halftime. The Sun tied the score twice, the last time on Kara Lawson's jumper with 4:16 left in the first half that evened it at 27-all.

Kara Braxton followed with a layup and Pondexter hit a 3 to put the Liberty ahead by five a little more than a minute later.

Hightower and Mims made consecutive baskets in the final minute to pull Connecticut within one, but Pondexter's 3 from 25 feet out at the buzzer gave the Liberty a 39-35 lead at the break.

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Follow Vin A. Cherwoo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP

• Sun: --
• Liberty: --

• Sun: Lawson
• Liberty: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
• Officials: #49 Kevin Sparrock, #9 Denise Brooks, #8 Daryl Humphrey
• Attendance: 5865
• Duration: 1:40