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Liberty Take Game One In Eastern Conference War
Posted Saturday, September 27, 2008
 Janel McCarville led the Liberty with 17 points. Photo by Noam Galai. |
NEW YORK- There isn’t anything pretty about playoff basketball. Friday night’s matchup between the New York Liberty and the Detroit Shock was a prime example with both teams grinding it out in a physical game from start to finish.
Making their first appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals since 2004, the Liberty outlasted the Shock 60-56 in front of an announced 14,711 fans at Madison Square Garden.
“It’s a war,” Liberty head coach Patty Coyle said. “Anytime you play Detroit, it’s going to be a war.”
Both teams got off to an energetic start, with New York trying to set the tempo. Aggressive on both ends of the floor, the Liberty took a one-point lead late in the period after a driving layup from Shameka Christon. Detroit responded in the closing minutes of the frame, pushing ahead by five after a pair of free throws from Deanna Nolan.
The Liberty looked to turn things around in the second quarter, but saw the deficit extend to seven in the opening seconds. Building momentum as the period progressed, New York cut Detroit’s lead to three after a turnaround jump shot from Janel McCarville. McCarville came alive offensively in the second quarter and provided the presence in the paint with nine of her game-high 17 points. The Shock responded with five straight points from Katie Smith, pushing their lead back to seven with 1:34 left in the first half. Looking to end the period on a high note, the Liberty pulled to within three after a layup from Essence Carson, but a 3-pointer from Deanna Nolan put the Shock ahead 29-23 going into the break.
After a scoreless two minutes to open second half, Cathrine Kraayeveld drained a 3-pointer, cutting the deficit back to three. Fueled by a burst of momentum, the Liberty were down by one midway through the period after a reverse layup from McCarville. The Shock quickly put a stop to the Liberty’s offensive push, extending its lead to nine, but a 3-pointer from Ashley Battle pulled New York to within six going into the final frame.
A jump shot from Leilani Mitchell started New York’s fourth-quarter comeback. Playing aggressively on both ends of the floor, the Liberty pulled together on offense and took their first lead of the game since the opening period after a jump shot from Christon. With 32.1 seconds left to play, Erin Thorn drove past the Shock’s Taj McWilliams-Franklin with a layup, putting the Liberty ahead by four. Thorn sealed the game at the line for New York, draining the crucial free throws in the closing seconds, putting the game away for good.
Nolan led all scorers with 22 points and six rebounds for the Shock. Smith added 13 points and pulled down four rebounds.
“No doubt that was disappointing,” Shock head coach Bill Laimbeer said. “I thought that we played hard enough to win a basketball game. We didn’t play smart enough and that’s the bottom line of this game.”
Christon recorded her second career playoff double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Liberty. Carson and Kraayeveld added eight and seven points respectively. Kraayeveld also grabbed seven rebounds.
“It’s definitely playoff basketball,” Christon said. “You really don’t know what to expect. You just only hope to go out there, execute and get the victory. I think my team did just that tonight.”
The Liberty leads the series 1-0 and will head to Michigan for Game 2 at the Eastern Michigan University Convocation Center on Sunday, September 28 at 3:00 pm ET. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
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