WNBA Playoffs 2011 – Top ten games of the post season: Part 2
Eastern Conference Semifinals Game-2:
New York Liberty 87 – Indiana Fever 72
In a bid to avoid elimination in just their second playoff game, New York Liberty came out with intensity and cruised past Indiana Fever 87-72 on September 17 at the Prudential Center, tying the best-of-three Eastern Conference
semi-finals at 1-1.
“All credit goes to New York,” Indiana’s guard Shavonte Zellous said after the game. “They just came out with a sense of urgency. They came and attacked us and I guess we were on the back of our heels and they came out with a victory.”
Nicole Powell led New York with 19 points and five rebounds while Plenette Pierson contributed 15 points on a 7 for 11 shooting from the field. Cappie Pondexter had 14 points, five rebounds and five assist while Essence Carson
came off the bench with 12 points in New York’s comeback victory.
Katie Douglas and Zellous were the only two players for Fever who reached the double figures with 20 and 13 points, respectively.
New York shot 50 percent from the field and 95.2 percent from free throw line, holding the visiting team to just 45.5 percent from the floor and a poor 50 percent from the line.
Both teams played to their strengths in the first quarter and the game was tied at 20 with 45 seconds to go in the quarter. Douglas however hit a shot from downtown to put Indiana ahead by 23-20 as team went into the second frame.
New York pulled away in the second frame and raced to a 50-41 advantage at halftime. In the third quarter, Liberty continued to play with the same intensity and stretched their lead to 12 points, 62-50. New York then maintained
their double-digit lead throughout the quarter to seal the win.
Western Conference Semi-finals Game-3:
Phoenix Mercury 77 – Seattle Storm 75
On September 19 at the Key Arena, Phoenix Mercury forward Candice Dupree hit a jumper right at the death to ensure a 77-75 victory over Seattle Storm in the deciding game of the best of three semi-final series.
"Everybody was tipping the ball around and it just so happened to land in my hands," Dupree said of her game-winning shot that put the defending champions out of the title contention. "Put it back up as soon as I could."
Dupree led Mercury with 20 points on 10 for 15 shooting from the field while Penny Taylor recorded a double-double with a game best 17 rebounds and 19 points. Diana Taurasi also added 19 points in the victory.
Seattle’s guard Sue Bird punctuated a game-high 22 points, shooting 4 for 8 from three-point range. Lauren Jackson chipped in 18 points and Tanisha Wright ended with 17 points in the defeat.
Seattle got off to a superb start and outscored Mercury 20-9 in the very first quarter. Phoenix tried to make a comeback in the second quarter but Storm managed to maintain a nine-point lead at halftime.
Mercury came out strong in the third quarter and after limiting Seattle to 18 points, they cut their deficit to 57-54 going into the fourth.
Taylor turned it on in the last ten minutes and erupted with 11 points to put Mercury ahead by 75-73 with 33 seconds remaining. Bird answered with a jumper and tied the game at 75. Dupree however put Mercury in the Conference Finals
in the passage that followed.
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