A Little HERstory Lesson

New York, NY - January 17, 2005 - So here we are, entering our 10th season. A tenth anniversary, the biggest milestone yet for the Liberty. But how did we get here? In order to understand the present, it is important to look back on the past, to see how we got to where we are today. And just as important is to see where we've been in order to see where we're going. So take a trip down memory lane with nyliberty.com, as we look at some of the key dates in the storied history of the Liberty:

April 24, 1996 – Women ballers everywhere exclaim “We Got Next” as the NBA Board of Governors approves the concept of the Women's National Basketball Association, to begin play in June 1997

October 30, 1996 – New York is named one of eight charter members of the WNBA, along with Cleveland, Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Sacramento and Utah

January 7, 1997 – Carol Blazejowski is named Vice President and General Manager of the New York franchise

January 22, 1997 – Rebecca Lobo and Teresa Weatherspoon are assigned to New York in the league’s first player allocation

February 13, 1997 – Franchise's "Liberty" name and logo unveiled

February 27, 1997 – Kym Hampton (4th) and Vickie Johnson (12th) selected by the Liberty in the WNBA Elite Draft

April 28, 1997 – Sue Wicks (6th), Sophia Witherspoon (11th), Trena Trice (22th) and Kisha Ford (27th) selected by New York in the WNBA Inaugural Draft

April 29, 1997 – Nancy Darsch is named the first Head Coach of the New York Liberty

May 21, 1997 – All WNBA uniforms, including the Liberty's, are unveiled at Madison Square Garden

June 21, 1997 – The Liberty defeats the Sparks, 67-57, in Los Angeles in the WNBA's first game

June 29, 1997 – The Liberty plays its first-ever game at Madison Square Garden, defeating Phoenix, 65-57, in front of 17,780 people

August 28, 1997 – The Liberty plays its first-ever playoff game, defeating the Mercury in Phoenix, 59-41

August 15, 1998 – New York marks its first sell-out at MSG (19,563); the game was a re-match from the previous year's WNBA Finals, only this time the Liberty defeated Houston on national television, 70-54

December 9, 1998 – Richie Adubato is named Head Coach of the Liberty

July 14, 1999 - The Liberty and MSG hosted the first-ever WNBA All-Star Game

August 29, 1999 – The Liberty plays its first-ever playoff game at The Garden, defeating Charlotte, 74-70

August 30, 1999 - The Liberty won its first Eastern Conference Championship, defeating the Charlotte Sting, two games to one

August 21, 2000 - New York won its second straight Eastern Conference Championship, downing the Cleveland Rockers 2-1 in the series

June 11, 2002 – New York claims its 100th franchise victory with a 77-68 win in Utah

August 25, 2002 - The Liberty won its third Eastern Conference Championship after defeating Washington, 2-1, in the series

July 3, 2004 – Pat Coyle is named Interim Head Coach of the Liberty

December 8, 2004 – Pat Coyle is officially named Head Coach of the Liberty

What will be the next big moment?