NEW YORK LIBERTY (4-7) vs. LOS ANGELES SPARKS (9-3)
Sunday, June 24 • Los Angeles, CA (Staples Center) • 5:00 PM (ET)
TV: League Pass, MSG+
The New York Liberty dropped a hard-fought battle against the Las Vegas Aces on Friday, falling 88-78 on the road. Next up is the season’s first matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks.
QUICK HITS
Tina Charles’ 20.9 points per game rank second in the league (as of 6/23).
Charles’ 7.1 rebounds per game are good for 13th in the league (as of 6/23).
Kia Nurse’s ranks third among rookies with 12.3 points per game (as of 6/23).
Bria Hartley is ninth in the league with 4.3 assists per game (as of 6/23).
The Liberty have won just one of their last six regular season games against the Sparks dating back to the 2016 season, with their lone victory coming in the last matchup between the two teams (8/13/17).
KEY MATCHUP
The Sparks have a pair of former MVPs on their roster in Candace Parker and
Nneka Ogwumike, and the head-to-head matchup between Parker and Tina Charles will be one to watch on Sunday. Already two of the greatest WNBA players to ever take the floor, they have eerily similar numbers across their distinguished careers. Parker has averaged 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, while Charles racks up 18.2 points and 9.9 boards per contest.
LAST MEETING
On August 13, 2017, the Liberty used a 20-0 run in the second quarter to power their way to a 83-69 victory over the Sparks at Madison Square Garden.
Tina Charles scored 21 points for New York, and Shavonte Zellous added 19. Odyssey Sims led Los Angeles with 18.
The Liberty overcame an early 27-16 deficit in the victory. The win marked their third-straight.
MILESTONE TRACKER
With a three-point jumper midway through the third quarter on Friday, Tina Charles reached 5,000 points for her career, becoming the fifth-fastest player in WNBA history to reach the milestone. She is now 12 points away from surpassing Taj McWilliams-Franklin to move into 18th on the all-time scoring list.
GETTING TO THE LINE
The Liberty are one of the better free-throw shooting teams in the WNBA with an 81.2 percent success rate, but they got to the line just 10 times against the Aces (hitting all 10 of them). They have now attempted 10 or fewer free throws four times this season, and they are winless in those contests.
MISSING X-FACTOR
Shavonte Zellous, the Liberty’s starting shooting guard in their first 10 games of the season, missed Friday’s matchup against the Aces due to injury. She is averaging 14.8 points per game in New York victories this season, and the team is 4-1 when she scores in double figures.