The New York Liberty open the season with a home-road back-to-back as it will face the Washington Mystics in the nation’s capital on Saturday night at the Verizon Center at 7 p.m.
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ALL-TIME: New York Leads, 41-25
LAST SEASON: New York, 3-2
LAST MEETING: August 16, 2014 (at Washington) – New York 73, Washington 61
New York is coming off an exhilarating 82-73 win over Atlanta in its season opener at Madison Square Garden on Friday night. The Mystics are also playing their second game in as many days, winning at Connecticut 73-68 on Friday.
Tina Charles and Stefanie Dolson both posted double-doubles yesterday. Charles had 17 points, 12 rebounds or NY, while Dolson had 18 points and 12 boards for Washington.
LET’S GET IT STARTED
The New York Liberty turned in an electrifying performance in its 82-73 win over Atlanta in the 2015 opener at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.
- Tina Charles started strong, posting a double-double with 17 points and 12 boards, also dishing out three assists.
- In all, New York saw four players score in double figures. Swin Cash (15), Tanisha Wright (14) and Brittany Boyd (14) joined Charles with 10-plus points in the opener.
- New York’s bench outscored the Atlanta reserves 44-10. Actually, the Liberty bench outscored the team’s starters 44-38.
- The Liberty led by as many as 17 in the first half, thanks in large part to points off turnovers. New York forced 12 Atlanta turnovers in the first half, which led directly to 14 points.
PLAYING TIME PROBLEM
New York flashed some of its depth in the opener against Atlanta, with its bench combining to score 44 points, with a pair of players scoring in double figures. Rookie Brittany Boyd scored 12 of her 14 in the first half, while Swin Cash played 24 minutes and shot 6-of-8 from the field to finish with 15. The Liberty second line also accounted for 12 of the team’s 13 steals.
PROTECTING THE BASKETBALL
New York lost the turnover battle in all three of its preseason games, but reversed that trend on Friday night in the opener against Atlanta, forcing the Dream to give the ball away 19 times, compared to 15 for the Liberty. As a result, New York led in points off turnovers 21-15, clearly key in an eight-point win.
SUGAR RODGERS HOMECOMING
New York guard Sugar Rodgers is coming back to Washington, D.C., where she starred collegiately at Georgetown University from 2009-13. Rodgers was a unanimous First-Team All BIG EAST selection in 2013, and finished her career with 2,518 points. She graduated from Georgetown with a degree in English and a minor in Theology.
TINA CHARLES DONATING HALF OF 2015 WNBA SALARY TO HOPEY’S HEART FOUNDATION
Liberty center Tina Charles announced she will donate half of her 2015 salary to the Hopey’s Heart Foundation. She’s dedicated to placing a minimum of 100 automatic external defibrillators (AED) throughout the United States each year. Nearly 390,000 out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrests (SCA) occur annually. Having an automatic external defibrillators (AED) close by can mean the difference between life and death for a victim of SCA. Hopey’s Heart Foundation is committed to improving the health of student and amateur athletes by providing health education, CPR training and lifesaving AEDs in schools, community and recreational centers. To date, Hopey’s Heart has placed 142 AED’s.