Tanisha Wright, Kiah Stokes, and Tina Charles gained history-making stats; Sugar Rodgers came up big with points at the right time

It was yet another memorable night in the World’s Most Famous Arena as the New York Liberty took on the Dallas Wings. Coming off a win 15-point road win against the San Antonio Stars, the ladies of New York defeated the Wings 91-88. This victory wasn’t the only accomplishment that took place in the arena on Tuesday night, Liberty vet Tanisha Wright recorded her 1,000th career rebound making her the 11th player in WNBA history to record 2,500 points, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 rebounds. Kiah Stokes also moved higher in the ranks clinching the 6th spot in New York Liberty history with 89 blocks. To top it all off Tina Charles hit a career high after she nailed three 3-pointers against the Wings, she never played a game where she completed more than one shot from beyond the arc.

The Liberty had an explosive first half capped off by two early shots made by Carolyn Swords, who has been  indispensable in the paint this season. However, the team struggled in the early moments and was down by as much as eight points. The Wings were able to capitalize off of New York’s miscommunication which allowed them to score four points off of the Liberty’s four turnovers. Dallas stars Odyssey Sims and Karima Christmas demonstrated their skills from beyond the arc early in the game after nailing two treys apiece. Nearly half of Dallas 26 points in the first half came from -three pointers. However rising Liberty star, Sugar Rodgers carried the team on her back once she displayed her skills from the three point line with less than two minutes remaining in the quarter. She soon followed up with the and-1 to tie it up 22-22 before the start of the second quarter. Rodgers scored 8 of her 18 points in the first quarter alone.

After only scoring 6 points in the first quarter, Charles led her team with 11 points in the second to outscore the Wings by 10 before the half. The Liberty was able to slow down the Wings defense forcing them to commit five turnovers and shoot 45.9% from the field. The Libs walked into the locker room with a 6-point lead (56-50). After soaring through the third the Liberty led by as much as 10 over the Wings, but the 4th quarter became a nail biter when Dallas came back and maintained a 4-point lead in the final minutes. Stokes served as the saving grace for her team after she deflected a lay-up attempt by Wings forward Christmas. This led to a sweet trey by Rodgers which sparked off a 6-0 run for Liberty. Charles led all scorers with 28 points and her late jumper in those final seconds bought the Liberty to their 91-88 win over the Dallas Wings.

With this win, the Liberty improved to a 6-4 record putting them second in the eastern conference. They hope to add to their two-game winning streak when they face off against the Connecticut Sun on  tonight. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm eastern standard time.

Liberty’s Sugar Rodgers Comes off the Bench and is the Game’s Impact Player

After a tough three-game series, the New York Liberty is moving on to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 13 years. This year’s team is one of the best group of women to ever play for the Liberty franchise. In case you’ve forgotten, this team has the best record in franchise history, as well as, in the WNBA for this season. The Liberty is the best defensive team in the league and they were also the first team to reach 20 wins in this year’s regular season. This group of seasoned veterans and flaming hot rookies have deemed themselves unstoppable.

WNBA Eastern Conference Semi-Finals Game 3 Recap

Last night, New York defeated the Washington Mystics 79-74 in the final game of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Overall, the game was close but the players of New York came through and made big plays when it counted the most. In the opening quarter, Washington managed to outscore the Liberty by 10 points. Ivory Latta nailed three trey’s contributing 9 points to her team within the first seven minutes of the game. The Liberty struggled offensively in the first quarter giving Washington the opportunity to take control of the game.

The momentum of the game changed once Sugar Rodgers and Candice Wiggins came off the bench for the Liberty. Wiggins and Rodgers entered the second quarter dropping two threes apiece.

Wiggins was 4-of-4 from the 3-point range bringing her game total to 12 points. However, it was Rodgers who had the biggest impact on the team’s win. Rodgers went 10-of-10 from the free throw line and was the team’s second-leading scorer of the night with 20 points. Although Rodgers hasn’t had the best game stats all season long, her performance in last night’s game demonstrated the hard work she puts in when she is off the court. In a post-game interview Liberty center, Tina Charles raved about her teammates’ constant effort on and off the court.

“Sugars in the Gym 24/7, we have practice she comes back that night she never let up, she never complains, she just wants to keep getting better.” said Charles.

Rodgers wasn’t the only Liberty player who came scorching off the bench, rookie center, Kiah Stokes stepped up to the plate and solidified the team’s win after she nailed one of the most important blocks of her professional career.

New York Liberty rookie Kiah Stokes dishing out one of her famous blocks

With just seven seconds remaining and only three points separating the two teams, Washington’s secret weapon, Ivory Latta shoots for three in hopes to tie the game but Stokes deflected the shot leading to a defensive rebound by Liberty’s top vet, Tanisha Wright. Not only did Stokes save the game for the Liberty, she had a total of 13 rebounds for the night.

For the second game in a row, the Liberty’s bench has burned bright, contributing a total of 77 points for the team’s two semifinal wins. If New York wants a shot at being named the best in the East, they must keep up their momentum, as they take on the Indiana Fever in another best of three series. New York is under pressure to make history once again this season. The team has not won a conference title since 2002. The Liberty will take a shot at history tonight as they face-off against Indiana for game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

Liberty’s Sugar Rodgers Much Needed Spark to Dash the Dream

Last weekend, the New York Liberty clinched its first playoff berth since the 2012 season. Being among the WNBA’s best teams comes with a price and the education continues for the Bill Laimbeer squad. Due to their current position atop of the Eastern Conference, the Liberty will receive every teams’ best shot and Monday night’s contest was no different.

The New York Liberty: New York’s Only Relevant Professional Basketball Team

New York’s only relevant professional basketball team needed overtime to outlast the Atlanta Dream yesterday evening, 80-75, and in doing so, received a strong performance from reserve guard, Sugar Rodgers. In 27 minutes of play, Rodgers led the Liberty in scoring with 23 points, a career-high and shot 5-12 from behind the arc, which included the most significant trey of the night. After trading baskets for the first three minutes of the OT period, Rodgers, drained a triple with 1:54 remaining, over the outstretched arms of Angel McCoughtry to increase the Liberty’s lead to five, 76-71.

It signaled the Liberty’s third straight win, improving its regular season record to 21-8, the best in the Eastern Conference while the Dream fell to 12-18, on the outside looking into the postseason. On a night where the Liberty didn’t play their best basketball, Rodgers bailed her team out time and time again with timely hoops. Other than her last points which sealed the Liberty’s fate, Rodgers connected on two three’s in the 4th which helped the Liberty comeback from what was a 10 point deficit late in the third quarter.

While starters Epiphanny Prince and Tanisha Wright struggled from the field, combining for 5 of 18 shooting, Rodgers contributed the scoring punch off the bench that proved to be the winning formula and head coach Laimbeer credited Rodgers performance to her improved work ethic.

Rodgers Shows Hard Work Pays Off

“She showed me that hard work pays off,” Laimbeer said following the win. “She has been in the gym night and day for the last 10 days. I sat her down and told her that she wasn’t working hard enough and somebody else was getting her minutes and she goes to the gym three times a day. It paid off; she’s a much different player today than she has been the whole season and everybody in that room was happy for her.”

Kiah Stokes WNBA Rookie of the Month Playing Like a Championship Veteran

In addition to Rodgers, Laimbeer also praised rookie Kiah Stokes who did a little bit of everything, producing a line of 10 points, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals. “That’s who she is, she’s just a glue player,” Laimbeer said. “Once she started playing we realized the defensive intelligence was off the charts. She’s always in position, always in help defense, can guard anybody in the gym and recovers well.”

And Laimbeer isn’t the only person who has recognized Kiah’s game. The WNBA rewarded Stokes with the Rookie of the Month Award for efforts during the month of August. In August, Stokes led the Liberty to an 8-2 record, leading all rookies in rebounds (8.3), field goal percentage (.56) and blocks (1.5). Stokes and Brittany Boyd, along with Rodgers represent the youth of the Liberty which is surrounded by a respected group of veterans and it’s one of the reasons why the Liberty is on the brink of a potential title run.

Cash, Wright and Wiggins Championship Experience Will Matter in Liberty Playoff Push

Swin Cash is a three-time WNBA Champ and Tanisha Wright and Candice Wiggins have both experienced what it’s like to stand alone on the mountain as the league’s best, capturing titles with the Seattle Storm in 2010 and the Minnesota Lynx in 2011, respectively.

Tanisha Wright New York Liberty Game on August 2, 2015. Photo by Danny Karwoski Licensed under CC BY SA 3.0 via Commons

Candice Wiggins New York Liberty game on August 2, 2015. Photo Credit: Danny Karwoski. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons

Having vets like Cash, Wright and Wiggins has helped the progression of the Liberty from solid WNBA squad to a consistent winner and Wiggins has enjoyed every bit of the ride thus far, even shedding light of what the Liberty must do in preparation for a deep playoff run.

“We take so much pride in working hard and pushing each other,” Wiggins shared post-game. “I’ve never personally felt this much support on a team before and it goes such a long way when you enjoy the process of getting there and you enjoy the journey and not necessarily just looking at the destination.”

And on the postseason: “We want the No.1 overall seed, we want to do our work and I know from winning a championship, it’s all about doing your work early. The more wins you can collect, then the more it will benefit you in the postseason and we don’t want to depend on anybody else but ourselves,” Wiggins continued.

With five games left on the season, there is no time for the Liberty to relax. Three of their last five games will feature other playoff teams in the Chicago Sky, Minnesota Lynx and the Indiana Fever which will all serve as the perfect tune up for what should be an exciting playoff run for the Girls of Summer.

Losing is not an option at Madison Square Garden

For the fourth time this season, the New York Liberty has shown the Chicago Sky that there is no room for them in the winner’s circle. The team pulled out their first two wins against the Sky without the help of veteran guard Epiphany Prince, who spent 4 years playing for Chicago. After dropping a combined total of 52 points against the Sky, Prince has proven that the grass is greener on the other side. Prince has now led her team in points for the second game in a row.

She dropped a total of 22 points for the night, 10 of them were made in the first quarter alone. Rookie, Kiah Stokes also landed in the double digits and recorded her second career double-double with a total of 13 points and 11 rebounds. The Liberty are beginning to prove that they can still win games despite the performance of their leading scorer, Tina Charles who only contributed a total of 4 points to the team’s win.

Out the gate, the Liberty’s starting lineup dominated the court and displayed a great amount of chemistry that has been lacking in previous games this season. With help from the bench, New York ended the first quarter with a 9 point lead (26-17). After a sweet three made by Sugar Rodgers midway into the second quarter, the team brought their lead up to the double digits. However, the Sky turned up their defense and managed to pull the Liberty’s lead down to just 7 points before the half. Former Liberty guard, Cappie Pondexter made her first appearance at Madison Square Garden since being traded to the Sky in February. Pondexter made sure to leave her mark at the world’s most famous arena as she battled against her former team. Chicago struggled to pull through without help from their leading scorer, Elena Delle Donne who was out due to an ankle injury. Pondexter carried her team defensively and lead the way with a total of 23 points for the night.

Although a great effort was put forth by Chicago, the Liberty was sure to remind them whose court they were playing on. Not only did the Liberty intensify their defensive performance after the half, they displayed their accuracy from the three-point range. After a trio of three’s made by Essence Carson, Candice Wiggins, and Rodgers all in the third quarter, the Liberty took a 21 point lead, their largest of the night. Fortunately for New York, the three’s didn’t stop there, Brittany Boyd rose off the bench and closed out the game after she nailed a three-point shot with just 40 seconds remaining on the clock. The Liberty has now won 5 straight games at home and it stands 2.5 games in front of the Washington Mystics with a 15-6 record. New York will attempt to improve its 3-game winning streak on Friday night, August 14th, as they travel to the Mohegan Sun Arena to take on the Connecticut Sun. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm eastern standard time.

Tina Charles scored a season low 6 points in Liberty’s Loss to Mystics

The New York Liberty struggled to maintain its home-court winning streak, as it fell to the Washington Mystics (74-59) on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. The team shot a season low 31-percent from the field after making a season-high of 71 attempted field goals. Essence Carson and Sugar Rodgers were the leading scorers for the Liberty with 12 points apiece. After leading the team for the past 3 games, Tina Charles scored a season-low 6 points.

New York Liberty guard Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers

Both teams experienced some trouble getting points on the scoreboard in the first quarter. It took three defensive rebounds, and 1 steal by guard Ivory Latta, for the Mystics to score its first 2 points of the game. After a strong defensive battle on the court, the teams barely made it into the double digits with a 12-12 tie at the end of the first quarter. The Liberty’s offensive decisions eventually pulled through in the beginning of the second quarter, allowing them to outscore the Mystics 9-3. However, the Mystics picked up quickly with just 2:21 remaining in the first half with a 13-0 run.

Washington managed to bring its lead up to as many as 15 points in the third quarter of the game. Although the Liberty were able to get their lead down to the single digits in the fourth, the Mystics made it nearly impossible for the Liberty to take the lead for another time in the remainder of the game.

Ivory Latta was the top scorer of the game with a total of 20 points; she also scored 3 out of 10 3-pointers for her team. Washington shot 44.3 percent and made 27 field goals which is a season high for a Liberty opponent. This was the second time that the Liberty had fallen to the Mystics this season. In the teams’ first meeting, the Liberty trailed by just 5 points. Head Coach, Bill Laimbeer believed this game exposed how much the team relies on their leading scorer, Tina Charles.

“We count so much on Tina (Charles) to score and she had a really bad game offensively... We have to find other ways to score. We’ve been getting by until tonight.”

Despite this loss bringing the Liberty down to the third spot in the Eastern Conference standings, with a 2-2 record, Guard Essence Carson keeps a positive outlook for the rest of the season.

New York Liberty guard/forward Essence Carson

“It’s a tough loss, but we will rebound from it and look to come out better. It is only the beginning.”

The Liberty will continue the remainder of its season without rookie forward, Rebecca Allen. She is out due to a cartilage injury to her right knee and will return to Australia where she will undergo surgery. The Liberty will try to grab another home court win on Friday, June 19th at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.

Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers