MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. – June 1, 2015 – The New York Liberty overcame a 21-point first-half deficit but ultimately saw its comeback attempt fall just short in an 85-80 loss in its preseason finale at Minnesota on Monday night.

BOX SCORE

Tina Charles led the Liberty offensively with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Rookie Rebecca Allen made it 3-for-3 in terms of double-figure scoring efforts during the preseason, finishing with 10 points and a pair of 3-pointers, and guard Tanisha Wright tallied 11 with four assists.

Second-year guard Tricia Liston scored 14 first-half points for the Lynx, and shot 4-for-8 from 3-point range, the last of which made it 39-18 with 6:38 left in the opening period.

New York was able to draw within 15 by halftime, by finding success in the paint. Kiah Stokes and Avery Warley-Talbert scored on consecutive possessions to spark what would turn into a 12-4 run.

In the second half, it was the three ball that made the difference for New York. Wright hit a trey at 6:04 to pull the Libs within 11, and a little over two minutes later, Allen sunk a triple to make it a two-possession game, 59-53. New York outscored the Lynx 13-5 to open the second half, limiting Minnesota to just 1-for-7 shooting from the field.

Minnesota would extend its lead back to double figures early in the fourth, as Liston was true from long-distance for a fifth time, making it 73-63, only the Liberty responded with a 12-2 run over the next 3:25 to come all the way back and tie the game.

Rookie point guard Brittany Boyd found a groove in the final period, assisting back-to-back Charles buckets before getting a runner in the paint to drop to make it a one-point game. After Rebekkah Brunson put the Lynx back up by three, Boyd nailed a three with 4:43 to play to knot the score at 75-75.

From there, Seimone Augustus and Maya Moore hit a pair of tough turnaround jumpers to prohibit the Liberty from ever regaining the lead. Augustus scored at 2:12 to put Minnesota back up by a field goal, then with under a minute to play and a one-point lead, Moore drained a fade-away to put the Lynx up by three.

Essence Carson misfired on a corner three on the other end, Liston came away with the rebound, and Minnesota went on to win by five.

The Liberty held Minnesota to 37.1 percent (13-of-35) shooting in the second half. All 10 of Allen’s points came during the final 20 minutes, while Charles had 12 on 5-for-6 shooting in the second half.

New York will open the regular season against the Atlanta Dream at Madison Square Garden on Friday, June 5, at 7:30 p.m.