NEW YORK, N.Y. – JUNE 13, 2016 – The New York Liberty returns to Madison Square Garden following a three-game road trip to host the Dallas Wings on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The Liberty went 2-1 on its road swing through the Western Conference and has won three of four overall, while Dallas has dropped to 3-6 and is currently on a five-game losing streak.
HEADLINES
• With Sugar Rodgers and Tina Charles both scoring over 20 points the Liberty ended its three-game road trip with a 90-75 victory at San Antonio on Saturday night. After falling behind by two early in the 4th quarter, New York went on a 12-0 run to take control of the game. Rodgers led all scorers, finishing with 22 points and three 3-pointers, while Charles notched her 7th double-double of the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
• In the first meeting of the season with Dallas, New York jumped out to a 19-3 lead in the first quarter before holding on late to pick up a 79-71 win. Both Sugar Rodgers and Tina Charles netted 24 points to lead New York. For Rodgers, it set a new career-high in scoring.
• New York continues to dominate the paint this season, as the Liberty ranks first in the league averaging 39.11 points in the paint following a season-high 46 in the win over San Antonio on Saturday night. The team ranks second in points allowed in the paint per game at 26.67, just 0.23 behind league leader Chicago.
• Tina Charles and Kiah Stokes represent the top rebounding duo in the league, as they combined to average 17.8 rpg (10.4 rpg for Charles and 7.4 rpg for Stokes).
PLAYER TO WATCH
Sugar Rodgers has continued her breakout season, as she is coming off a 22-point game in the win over San Antonio on Saturday night. In that victory, Rodgers did connect on three shots from downtown, but also got to the line nine times, a new career-high.
The last time Rodgers faced the Wings she scored 24 points and nailed a career-best six 3-pointer. The Liberty will be looking to her once again to work on her inside and outside game. Over the last three games she has attempted 17 free throws, more than she did over the first six games of the season combined.
STAT CENTRAL
Tina Charles continues to lead the WNBA in rebounding, pulling in 10.4 rebounds per game, which when combined with Kiah Stokes’ 7.4 rebounds per game makes them the top rebounding duo in the league. Stokes is ranked 8th overall, and has seen her rebounding number increase from 6.4 during her rookie season. The second place duo is currently Candace Parker and Nneka Ogwumike, averaging a combined 15.9 boards per game.
Tanisha Wright is just a single rebound shy of hauling in No. 1,000 in her career, which will put her on a very rare list. With 2,895 career points, 1,155 assists and 999 rebounds, she would become just the 11th player in WNBA history to score at least 2,500 points, with 1,000 rebounds and 1,100 assists. That list would actually soon grow to 12 members, as Swin Cash is five assists shy of 1,100, and she has 4,991 points and 2,444 rebounds.