Liberty Outshine Sun In Playoff Opener

By Tracy Jusay: SPM NY Writer
Posted Friday, September 19, 2008

File photo of Janel McCarville by Noam Galai.

NEW YORK - Before tip-off, New York Liberty head coach Patty Coyle talked about how the team waited a year for this moment, the Playoffs. With motivation stemming from last year’s run in the postseason and the momentum from the experience, the Liberty took to the floor against the Connecticut Sun for the first-round rivalry at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.

Spectacular from the opening tip, Shameka Christon led all scorers with 19 points and four rebounds. She kept a focused mindset, helping the Liberty secure the 72-63 victory over the Sun.

“I thought we had a lot of energy tonight,” Coyle said. “Defensively, we did a good job. They’re a terrific team, and terrific teams make runs. They made their run and we were fortunate enough to withstand it.”

Both teams played the game with intensity, but it was New York who pushed tempo from the start. The Liberty took a seven-point lead midway through the first quarter, after back-to-back layups from Janel McCarville. New York dominated on the offensive end and was 4-4 from the perimeter. Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld led the Liberty offense with 17 of the team’s 24 points in the opening stanza.

The Liberty’s momentum carried over into the second quarter, despite Connecticut’s effort to chip away at the lead. A crucial moment in the period came when Svetlana Abrosimova fouled Christon while shooting a 3-pointer, resulting in the rare four-point play. The energy from both teams picked up towards the end of the first half with the Liberty up 42-31 going into the break.

Connecticut looked to turn things around in the second half, opening with a jump shot from Asjha Jones. New York’s momentum quickly diminished after that point, allowing the Sun to score six straight points. A layup from Loree Moore ended the Sun’s 6-0 run, but the Liberty saw its lead cut to three with 5:28 left in the period. Tamika Whitmore and Jones combined for 9 of the Sun’s 14 points in the third quarter, but the effort was still not enough to catch New York. Regaining their offensive flow, a layup from Erlana Larkins pushed the Liberty ahead by seven. Both teams engaged in a battle on the defensive end during the final minute of the period, but New York continued its domination over Connecticut with one more quarter left to play.

The Liberty found themselves in foul trouble early in the final frame, committing three in the opening minutes. The Sun searched for ways to improve on offense, cutting the deficit to seven with 3:10 left to play but the Liberty countered with four straight points. Connecticut failed to recover down the stretch, allowing New York to notch the win.

“They just played better than us, particularly the first quarter,” Sun head coach Mike Thibault said. “Our play was just not good enough. We have to get more people offensively involved. Somebody else besides our two post players have to step up and make some shots.”

Whitmore and Jones scored 16 and 11 points respectively and pulled down six rebounds apiece for the Sun.

Kraayeveld recorded her first career postseason double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Liberty. McCarville added 13 points and grabbed five rebounds.

“We’re going to continue to do what we’ve done all season, and that’s to really focus on ourselves,” Christon said. “I think it’s still very important for us that we go out and be the aggressors. I think we are a better team if we are definitely the aggressors. ”

The Liberty leads the series 1-0 and will head to Connecticut for Game 2 at Mohegan Sun Arena on Saturday, September 20th at 7pm ET. The game will be televised locally on the MSG-Plus network and nationally on NBA-TV.