Cappie Pondexter fires in the go ahead shot as New York Liberty edge Seattle Storm 58-56: WNBA Recap
On Tuesday night at Prudential Center, Cappie Pondexter notched up a game-high 19 points, including the go-ahead shot with 41 ticks to go as New York Liberty squeaked past Seattle Storm 58-56. It was New York’s third victory in
the previous four games and Seattle’s second in a row.
Only two Liberty players reached double figures on the night. Along with her scoring blitz, Pondexter also dished out five assists and grabbed three rebounds. The 5 ft-9in guard shot 8 for 19 from the field and was complemented
by Plenette Pierson, who added 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks in the victory.
Sue Bird led Seattle with 17 points, four assists and four rebounds. Bird went only 6 for 18 from the floor, including 5 for 9 from three-point range. Guards Tanisha Wright and Katie Smith added 11 points each in the loss.
Seattle’s forward Swin Cash, who is averaging 15.3 points and 6.4 rebounds so far in this season, was limited just six points in more than 34 minutes. The 31-year-old was not able to shoot past the shored up defense of Liberty
and ended with a poor 1 for 13 shooting from the floor.
Liberty shot 39.3 percent (24 for 61) from the field, 33.3 percent (4 for 12) beyond the arc and 46.2 percent (6 for 13) from free throw line while Seattle shot just 30.9 percent (21 for 68) from the floor, 38.1 percent (8 for
21) from 3-point range and 85.7 percent (6 for 7) from the line. Storm also committed 18 turnovers while New York committed just 13.
New York got off to a good start and limited Seattle to just 12 points in the first quarter, taking an eight-point lead, 20-12, into the second. In the second quarter, Storm bounced back to outscore Liberty 17-12 and trimmed their
deficit to three, 32-29, at halftime.
The game continued to be a close one after the break and Smith’s three-pointer with 03:48 to go in the third quarter tied the game at 38-38. However, New York went on a 6-2 run in the 2:08 to take a 44-40 lead into the fourth.
Storm didn’t lay back in the fourth quarter and went ahead by 56-55 with 01:36 remaining.
However, with the clock running down, Pondexter drove to rim to put Liberty ahead by one. Storm missed their next attempt to equalize and Pierson followed with a free throw to seal the victory for Liberty.
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