Liberty-Sun Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Aug 17 2012 12:28PM

The New York Liberty believe they need to gain 11 wins after the Olympic break to reach the playoffs, but getting one at Mohegan Sun Arena figures to be a tall task.

The Liberty suffered the worst loss in franchise history the last time they were there, but they should be buoyed by having beaten the Connecticut Sun two days prior to Saturday night's rematch.

These teams returned to action after the hiatus Thursday, and New York (7-12) ended Connecticut's five-game win streak with a 79-66 victory. The Liberty, who led by as many as 19 points, are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and have 15 games left to chase down one of the East's four playoff spots.

"If we win 11 games we give ourselves a chance to make a playoff push," said Cappie Pondexter, who scored a game-high 24 points. "It's attainable. Right now we got 10 to go. I really feel we have a chance to win some games on the road."

New York is kicking off a five-game road trip in Connecticut (15-5), which saw its lead over Indiana for the East's best record cut to three games Thursday. The Sun fell to 12-2 against conference foes after committing 17 turnovers that led to 19 points.

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

The Sun figure to have a good chance to get back on track as winners of seven of their last eight at home against the Liberty, including a 97-55 rout June 15. Connecticut set a league record with a 34-point halftime lead.

New York's worst-ever defeat came with owner James Dolan sitting courtside in a performance Pondexter called "embarrassing." She had a season-low six points in that game but is averaging 20.2 to rank second in the league.

The Liberty also fell 92-77 at Connecticut on May 20, and have been outscored by 66 points over their last seven quarters at Mohegan Sun. They are 3-6 on the road.

The Sun have the only two Olympians from either team, and that may have negatively affected them Thursday. Top scorer Tina Charles was held to four points on 1-of-7 shooting after averaging 21.3 points on 59.6 percent shooting in Connecticut's three victories in the season series.

"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," Liberty coach John Whisenant said.

Connecticut forward Asjha Jones sat out Thursday due to a strained left Achilles' tendon - an injury she was dealing with before the break. Jones played sparingly in the London Games.

Practicing without Charles and Jones has been difficult for the Sun.

"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," Thibault said.

New York forward Plenette Pierson returned and scored 16 points after missing the last eight games due to a left knee strain.

Charles scores 23 to lead Sun past Liberty

Posted Aug 18 2012 10:47PM

UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Tina Charles was determined to make up for a poor offensive performance against the New York Liberty in the last matchup. She only had to wait two days to get another chance at them.

Charles had 23 points and nine rebounds while playing nearly 38 minutes, and the Connecticut Sun beat the Liberty 85-74 on Saturday night.

The third-year center, who scored a season-low four points in the Sun's 79-66 loss at New York on Thursday night in the teams' first game after the monthlong Olympic break, played the entire first half.

``I have never not taken her out in the first half,'' Sun coach Mike Thibault said. ``I talked to her and said, `You let me know when you need a sub tonight.' She said, `Coach, I'm staying out there.' So, `Yes, ma'am.' I might not say that to some other people, but I know when she is feeling that way. She had that look in her eye. I know she didn't like the other night in New Jersey and she wanted to make up for it.''

Kara Lawson had 21 points and Allison Hightower added a career-high 20 for the Eastern Conference-leading Sun (16-5). Mistie Mims, playing in place of the injured Asjha Jones (strained left Achilles tendon), added 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.

``We had some people step up pretty big-time tonight and make shots - between Tina in the first half and Kara and Allie throughout the game, and Mistie was everywhere on the boards,'' Thibault said.

Charles also became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 1,000 rebounds, accomplishing it in her 89th game - three fewer than Yolanda Griffith's previous mark.

Cappie Pondexter had 17 points and five assists for the Liberty (7-13). Essence Carson also scored 17 and Plenette Pierson added 14 points and eight rebounds.

Connecticut capitalized on 26 New York turnovers, scoring 28 points off the miscues.

``We went from six turnovers the other night to 26 tonight,'' Liberty coach John Whisenant said. ``We have to keep our turnovers under 15 to compete with a team like that. ... We got them the other night and they made a lot of turnovers. We made eight turnovers in the first quarter (tonight) and that just digs you a big hole.''

The Sun were trying to withstand a late Liberty rally as their 17-point, second-half lead eroded to six points with more than 2 minutes remaining.

Another New York turnover derailed it quickly as Nicole Powell was called for traveling, the Liberty's final turnover of the game. Powell was hit by a technical, and Lawson made the free throw to give the Sun an 81-74 lead.

``Some of those (turnovers), we just shot ourselves in the foot,'' Powell said. ``Really bad choices and decisions.''

Renee Montgomery followed with a short jumper at the shot-clock buzzer that just rolled in. Charles added a jumper of her own for the final margin.

New York trailed 76-61 with less than 5 minutes left in the game when it made one last charge. A 3-pointer by Carson off a drive-and-kick by Pondexter cut the Liberty's deficit to 80-74 with 2:18 left.

Connecticut led 47-43 at halftime. The Sun used a lot of defense and clutch scoring by Lawson to extend the lead in the third quarter. Lawson scored 10 points in the period as the Sun pulled ahead 66-50.

The Liberty missed nine of their 12 shots in the third and also turned it over nine times, including twice on 3-second violations.

Connecticut trailed by eight points in the second quarter, but closed with a 13-6 run. Hightower ended the quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Sun their four-point lead.

Hightower finished 6 for 13 from the field, including 2 for 5 on 3s, and was 6 for 6 on free throws.

``I know that I can score,'' the former LSU star said. ``It's just being confident and taking what the defense gives you. My teammates and my coaches have so much confidence in me. That also helps that they know that I can score and they know the things that I'm capable of doing. I just want to go out there and do it and take what they give me.''

Thibault was impressed with Hightower's performance.

``She took over the game offensively when things were bogging down,'' he said. ``She has grown up so much. ... I made a prediction that she is going to be maybe a top-20 player in this league in a couple of years. She has the ability to do that. People laugh when you say that, but every week she gets better and her teammates trust her. I think that is a big factor.''

Charles carried the Sun offensively in the first half, playing all 20 minutes and scoring 19 points.

The Liberty went on a 9-0 run at the end of the first quarter and into the second. It was highlighted by Powell's 3-pointer and Kia Vaughn's jumper over Charles that gave New York a 31-23 edge.

New York shot 64 percent in the first quarter, including four 3s to take a 26-23 lead.

• Liberty: --
• Sun: --

• Liberty: Powell
• Sun: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
• Officials: #38 Lamont Simpson, #53 Jeff Smith, #35 Billy Smith
• Attendance: 8232
• Duration: 1:51