New York Liberty stage a huge 4th quarter comeback to defeat Washington Mystics – WNBA Recap
The New York Liberty staged an extra ordinary fourth quarter comeback to defeat the Washington Mystics 75-68 here at the Verizon Center in Washington on Sunday night.
Trailing by 9 points with 9 minutes remaining in the game, Cappie Pondexter led the Liberty fight back, as New York kept their playoff hopes alive with the victory. Pondexter had an All Star night, scoring 30 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists while going 9 of 17 from the field. Nicole Powell provided all the assistance Pondexter could have asked for, scoring 18 points and 9 rebounds for the night.
Jasmine Thomas scored a team high 16 points for the Mystics on a night when the offence for the Mystics failed to deliver.
“Defense is our key. And Cappie. She's been awesome. She's our MVP and the most important player to her team of anybody in the league,” '' said Liberty coach John Whisenant.
New York started strong, going on a 7-0 run to open the game, and extended their lead to 13-4 before Washington got it going. The Mystics replied with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 13-10. The game remained tight from there on till the end of the period, with New York leading 17-16.
The second period was an exciting and thrilling one, with both teams answering play with play and remaining close to each other, not allowing each other to make a run. A three pointer by Pondexter to close the first half had New York leading 35-33.
Back to back two point shots by Thomas had Washington up 41-39, and a layup by Ashley Robinson extended their lead to 49-43. Pondexter scored two free throws to close the third period and have the Liberty trailing 47-52. Iziane Castro Marques scored back to back jump shots to open the final period for Washington and put them ahead 56-47. However, Pondexter responded with 6 straight points to have New York trailing by only three points.
Washington again went on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 61-55, but New York refused to die down and Powell replied with a three pointer, followed by a layup and another three pointer to tie the game at 63. Pondexter then took over and ensured that New York came out with the victory in the end. The Mystics were outscored 28-16 by New York in the final period alone, which led to their loss.
“I think we played a tough game. We fought through until the end. They executed better than we did. They made some tough shots, some big shots,” said Mystics Monique Currie after the game.
New York had a 40-30 advantage over the Mystics in rebounds, and shot 14 of 14 from the foul line. Washington, on the other hand, shot better than the Liberty from the field, going 43.5 percent from as compared to 38.9 percent for New York.
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