Los Angeles Sparks 53 vs. New York Liberty 53 – WNBA Game Halftime Analysis
On Tuesday night, the two heavy weights of the league, Los Angeles Sparks and New York Liberty took on each other. Both the teams matched each other all the way in the first half and ended it with the scores tied at 53-53. Cappie
Pondexter of New York led all the players with 15 points while Tina Thompson scored team-high 14 points for Los Angeles at halftime.
First Quarter
DeLisha Milton scored the first two points of the first quarter for Los Angeles on a pair of free throws. Pierson’s however responded for Liberty with a driving lay-up in the next 19 seconds and tied the game at two. Liberty took
the lead on the next possession but Thompson’s driving bank shot and a three-pointer put the Sparks ahead by 7-4 with 07:46 to go in the first period. New York reverberated by scoring the next four points of the first to take a one-point lead but Thompson’s
jumper nipped the run and made it 9-8 for the Sparks.
With 06:20 remaining in the first, New York went on a 10-5 run capped by Pondexter’s seven-point spurt to carry an 18-14 lead. The topsy-turvy trend however continued as Candace Parker scored five unanswered points for Los Angeles
to put them ahead by one, 19-18, with 03:45 to go. The see saw battle continued and it was Liberty’s turn to go ahead. Leilani Mitchell and Pondexter added the next five points to give the Liberty a 23-19 edge. Ebony Hoffman’s jumper at 02:21 mark however
made it a two-point contest, 23-21.
Kia Vaughn’s pair of free throw on return stretched the Liberty’s lead to four points with 02:12 remaining; however, New York could not handle Los Angeles in the last two minutes of the quarter. Milton-Jones pinned a three point
dagger and then drove to the rim twice as the Sparks held a 28-25 lead going into the second.
Second Quarter
Hoffman opened the second quarter on a pair of free throw to push the Sparks’ lead to 30-25. Liberty responded immediately. Essence Carson slipped in a free throw and followed it with a lay-up while Plenette Pierson hit a jumper
to knot the game at 30 with 08:40 to go in the first half. The next seven minutes of the second period again witnessed a scramble for dominance and the game was at 48 with 01:23 remaining in the half.
Vaughn hit a jumper at that point to make it 50-48 for the Liberty but Parker countered with a jumper to make it 50-50 with 23 seconds left. Pondexter and Parker then hit three apiece for their teams in the last four seconds of
the second to tie the game at 53 at halftime.
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