MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. – MAY 31, 2015 – The New York Liberty close out preseason action with a road game at the Minnesota Lynx on Monday, June 1, at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minn. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. (ET).

These two teams split their regular season meetings in 2014, protecting home court in both cases. Tina Charles averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds per game in two meetings a year ago.

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

RODGERS SCORES 22 IN 100-42 WIN OVER CHINA IN OPEN SCRIMMAGE
Led by guard Sugar Rodgers, the Liberty topped the China Olympic Team 100-42 in an open scrimmage at MSG Training Center on Saturday afternoon. Rodgers scored a game-high 22 points, with 20 coming in the second half. She nailed five 3-pointers, and New York shot 10-of-16 (.625) as a team from 3-point range. Four different players scored in double figures overall for the Liberty, with Tina Charles (12), Essence Carson (12) and Rebecca Allen (10) joining Rodgers.

LIBERTY WAIVE ORRANGE AND MCKINNEY
The Liberty waived rookie guard Amber Orrange and forward/center Shanece McKinney on May 28. Orrange, a 5-foot-7-inch guard out of Stanford University, was drafted in the second round (23^rdoverall) of the 2015 WNBA Draft. She was a three-time All-Pac 12 selection with the Cardinal, and ranked 20^th all-time at Stanford with 1,414-career points. In her second professional season. McKinney originally joined the Liberty as an undrafted free agent in 2014. The Louisiana State product averaged 1.8 points and 1.4 rebounds per game in 24 appearances with New York last season.

ROOKIES CONTINUE STRONG PRESEASON
Rookies Rebecca Allen and Kiah Stokes continue lead New York offensively during the preseason. Allen has scored in double figures in both preseason contests, while Stokes is averaging a double-double with 10.5 points and 11.0 rebounds per game; she narrowly missed out on her second-straight double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds against Atlanta on Wednesday at MSG. Stokes is getting ample opportunity to learn her role with New York averaging 26.8 minutes per game, which ranks eighth in the league, and her 11 boards per contest are tops in the WNBA during the preseason.

LIGHTING UP THE LYNX
Center Tina Charles had two of her best games of the season when the Liberty matched up with Minnesota last year. When New York topped the Lynx 87-80 at MSG on July 6, Charles scored a career-high 32 points to go along with 10 boards. She had a big-time double-double in the first meeting of the season as well, finishing with 24 points and 14 rebounds at the Target Center. 

ATLANTA TOPS NEW YORK IN LIBERTY PRESEASON HOME OPENER
Four players scored in double figures but the Liberty fell to the Atlanta Dream, 85-72, in its preseason home opener at The Garden last Wednesday. Making her preseason debut, Tina Charles led the way with 12 points, shooting 6-for-10 from the field. Rebecca Allen and Sugar Rodgers came off the bench to score 11 points apiece, and Essence Carson finished with 10. New York shot 0-for-8 from 3-point range while Atlanta connected on seven outside shots.