Cappie Pondexter leads as New York Liberty beat Los Angeles Sparks 77-67 - WNBA Recap
Just two nights after posting a huge win over the Tulsa Shock, the New York Liberty were at it again on Sunday. This time it was the Los Angeles Sparks that succumbed to a 77-67 loss against New York. The Liberty are now 4-4 in
the season and fourth in the Eastern Conference.
It was the first success for New York at the Prudential Center, which is their new home for the upcoming three seasons in Women National Basketball Association (WNBA).
New York coach John Whisenant said, "We need to establish that this is our home court ... and we need to get a good feel about it," "Our players have to get a comfort here. ... We need to establish we can win here. We need to win
at home and make people afraid to come into Prudential to play the Liberty.
Cappie Pondexter played one of the best games in New York uniform. The 28-year-old guard scored a game-high 22 points, including three 3-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds, dished out five assists and made three steals in the victory.
Essence Carson came off the bench with 18 points while Plenette Pierson chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds for Liberty.
For Los Angeles, Candace Parker scored a team-high 16 points and pulled down a game best 11 rebounds before she left the game because of a knee injury with six minutes to go in the third quarter. Parker did not return for rest
of the game. Tina Thompson scored 14 points in Sparks’ second consecutive loss.
Overall, it was a close game. Los Angeles got off to an impressive start and held a 16-7 just under nine minutes in the first quarter. New York however scored 10 consecutive points and with 01:47 remaining in the first period,
took a 17-16 lead. However, Jenna O'Hea hit a three-pointer in the closing seconds to put the Sparks ahead by 19-17, heading into the second.
In the second quarter, Los Angeles stretched their lead to 33-29 with 03:08 to go in the first half. New York once again responded though and again with 10 unanswered points to take a 41-33 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Liberty canned 18 points compared to the Sparks’ 16 and established a 10-point lead, 59-49, at the end of the quarter. This commendable lead in the third period played a vital role overall victory as both
teams finished the fourth quarter with 18 points apiece.
Liberty had an 80 percent shooting night from the line and also made 43.1 percent from the field. On the other hand, the Sparks made just 76.5 percent of their free throws and 38.7 percent of their field goals.
Next up, the Sparks will play its next game against Connecticut Sun on Tuesday while the Liberty travel to Atlanta to play its next game against Atlanta Dream on Thursday.
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