Cappie Pondexter marshals New York Liberty to an 81-80 victory over Indiana Fever – WNBA Recap
Cappie Pondexter erupted with a team-high 21 points and nailed a game-winning jumper with just eight seconds to go, to lift the New York Liberty to a hard-fought 81-80 victory over the Indiana Fever on Friday night at Conseco Field
house.
Plenette Pierson was the second player for the Liberty in double figures. She finished the night with 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists. The 29-year-old centre/forward shot 6-for-12 from the field.
Indiana’s Katie Douglas led all players with 27 points and four rebounds, shooting a terrific 10-for-18 from the field. She also had a career high-tying six three-pointers, going 6-for-11 from three-point range. Forward Tamika
Catchings added 13 points, on a 6-for-12 shooting from the field. She also grabbed six rebounds, handed out three assists and clutched two steals.
Guard Erin Phillips came off the bench with 11 points and guard Briann January chipped in with 10 points for Fever, who trailed by 18 points lead in the second half of the game.
However, Fever launched a vociferous comeback and by the time January hit a dagger from down town with 23 second to go in the game Indiana rocketed to an 80-79 lead. With the clock running down, Cappie Pondexter came around with
a jumper to make it 81-80. Indian had the last possession with 8 seconds to go, but Catchings missed a jump shot that could have given Fever a victory.
Both teams played a very close game in the first quarter and the game was tied at 19-19 with 56 seconds to go in the quarter. However, Indiana outscored Liberty 5-3 in the last 37 seconds of the first quarter to take a 24-22 lead.
New York came out firing on all cylinders in the second quarter and outscored the Fever 30-18 to take a 52-42 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, both teams missed some easy opportunities to score. However, Liberty still managed
to maintain a 67-59 lead going into the fourth.
Fever made a comeback in the fourth quarter and cut the deficit to three points, 67-70, with 07:10 to go in the game. New York however continued to play with focus and stretched their lead to 79-74. In the ensuing passage, Douglas
and January hit two outstanding three-pointers to put the Fever ahead by 80-79 with 23 seconds to go. However Cappie’s heroics saved Liberty from a demoralizing defeat.
New York coach John Whisenant praised the great comeback of her team at the crucial time and said, "I am proud of the ladies for their fortitude to come back to win by one point," "This is a tough environment to play a good team."
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