New York Liberty cruises past Indiana Fever for biggest win since 2010
Recap from the Liberty:
The New York Liberty snapped a three-game losing streak by cruising to a 91–59 win over the Indiana Fever on Friday night at Madison Square Garden.
For the Liberty (3-3), it was the largest margin of victory since a 38 point win over the Phoenix Mercury on August 14, 2010, and the biggest ever win in the all-time series with Indiana (3-4); the previous mark was 19 points (74-55) set on June 25, 2002.
Sugar Rodgers led New York with a game-high 21 points, burying 5-of-8 3-point attempts. Tina Charles finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, narrowly missing out on what would have been her sixth-straight double-double to start the season. Facing her former team for the first time, Shavonte Zellous chipped in 13 points to round out the Liberty’s double-digit scorers.
It was a somewhat uncharacteristic 3-point barrage that carried New York to the large final margin. The Liberty nailed 6-of-8 attempts from deep in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Fever 31-13 during the final period.
Shoni Schimmel came off the bench to hit both of her 3-point shots in the fourth, and Zellous and Brittany Boyd also connected from deep. For the game, New York sunk a season-high 10 threes.
The Liberty started strong, closing the first quarter on a big run to take a 26-20 lead, shooting 63.2 percent from the field as a team.
The second quarter featured more of the same, a strong surge heading into the locker room. New York clamped down defensively, holding Indiana without a field goal over the final 3:16 of the half, gradually building a 42-29 lead. Zellous capped things off by drawing a foul with 0.1 on the clock on a desperation 3-point attempt, sinking all three shots at the line.
The lead ballooned to 50-33 early in the third quarter after Rodgers made a nice drive to the basket. The Fever would pull back within 11, but could not get any closer down the stretch.
New York will begin a three-game road trip on Sunday afternoon when it faces the Seattle Storm at Key Arena. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. (ET).
Liberty Notes
- Tina Charles had her streak of five-straight double-doubles come to an end, but she led the Liberty with six assists.
- New York held the Fever to just 32.8 percent shooting as a team; the Liberty has limited five of its first six opponents to under 36.0 percent from the field.
- Sugar Rodgers had her fourth-career 20-point game and the second of the season. After hitting five 3-pointers on Friday night, she leads the Liberty with 18 this season.
- Swin Cash made her first start of the season as she finished with nine points, five rebounds and two steals.
- The Liberty outscored Indiana 40-18 in the paint and also had a big advantage in second-chance scoring (15-5).
Fever Notes
- Rookie guard and Fever scoring leader Tiffany Mitchell has scored in double figures in all seven games of her pro career. She finished with a team-high 11 points.
- Thirty-six year-old Tamika Catchings reached double-figure scoring for the fourth time in seven games, scoring 10 for Indiana.
- Also finishing with 10 points was Shenise Johnson who returned to the Fever lineup after missing three games due to league concussion protocol.
- New York snapped a three-game losing skid while handing Indiana its third loss in four games.
- The Fever and Liberty met for the first time since the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals. Indiana earned its third-ever trip to the WNBA Finals as the Fever won the final two games of the series, including a 66-51 road victory at Madison Square Garden in the decisive Game 3.
New York Liberty Quotes
Head Coach Bill Laimbeer
On various in-game lineups
“I needed Tanisha [Wright] more at the lead guard and needed Swin Cash at the three. I have [Shavontae] Zellous, I like to have Zellous come off the bench and when she does, she brings energy. So our logical by default was [Swin] Cash and I know what I am going to get. The players know what they are going to get.”
On team’s offensive progress
“We’re starting to look at options to open the floor up a little bit more but we aren’t structured that way. We don’t have a bunch of shooters and drivers. We’re working to get more open looks and open the floor up more to get some open drives like [Shavontae] Zellous being able to drive and penetrate in the lane. That’s what we are working on in practice.”
On takeaways from tonight’s game
“I don’t know about the offensive effort but our defense was very solid tonight. That’s what carries us all of the time. The energy level and the intensity level was what we were looking for. It wasn’t there in the first quarter against Minnesota. We made a couple of blunders against Atlanta and L.A. otherwise we would be sitting pretty but we aren’t. We are 3-3 and got a long way to go. We have a lot of work ahead of us; if we bring that kind of energy and effort every night, we’ll be okay.”
Sugar Rodgers
On tonight’s game
“It’s all about defense, looking for, and supporting, your team, getting rebounds, turning the ball, and going out there to have fun.”
On staying motivated
“We just keep playing, and don’t worry about the score. It’s been a long time coming for us. We lost four games prior to this game,; so tonight’s game meant a lot to us.”
Tina Charles
On minimizing turnovers
“Indiana thrives off of turnovers. Their defense is really good…especially against us; so we’re focusing on taking care of the ball, and – regaining possession.”
On next week’s game
“It’s the intensity on our defensive end, Tanisha [Wright] harped on this before the game. We have to go for the win. That’s how we show New York basketball, and that’s why we’re Number 1 in defense.”
Indiana Fever Quotes
Head Coach Stephanie White
On New York Liberty’s play tonight
“They hit a lot of outside shots, that they probably hadn’t hit up until this point. When you let teams shoot 60% in the first quarter they are going to gain confidence. They played like they had their backs against the wall, and they have the potential to really be dominant inside and they did that. They got their outside shot going as well. So you really have to pick your poison with this team. We weren’t paying great attention to detail on our coverage’s, we got loose on our coverage’s, but you have to hand it to them for being able to come out and be able to stop a run when we did make a run.”
On Indiana Fever’s performance
“For us to be successful we have to be able to play on the open court, and we have to be able to take turnovers and score on them often. That is part of our journey. The thing I am most disappointed in with our team is, I think New York just out worked us and they out toughed us. They came to play and we didn’t accept the challenge and rise to the occasion.”
Tamika Catchings
On coming into the game tonight
“It’s a much different team than last year, so you can’t really even focus on what happened last year. They came out with a chip on their shoulder. Obviously just trying to get back on the winning column. We came out a little bit – I wouldn’t say comfortable – we just weren’t ready. I think that things didn’t start our way. We thought if we played a little bit that we’d get out of our rhythm and got out of what we do really, really well.”
On goals for final season
“I think every single game, to come out and win and be a part of something that we can create here with this team. Knowing that it is the last time, I think every single time making sure that I give everything I have while I’m out there and make sure that I’m ready for my team.”
Tiffany Mitchell
On the game tonight
“They had a chip on their shoulder and we didn’t. They came out aggressive, they hit us first. It took us awhile to retaliate but we didn’t connect offensively and we couldn’t get going.”
On goals for rookie season
“Of course we want to win. I watched the Fever last year get to the Finals and when I got drafted here it was just something I dreamed of playing in – the WNBA Finals. I know we have it in us, we just have to find ways to put it together.”
On receiving guidance from a veteran (Tamika Catching)
“She can see in my face when things aren’t going right. She kind of pulls me to the side and just gives me words of wisdom. Having that leadership from the veteran is really helpful for me.”
