Sugar Rodgers came out of college as a prolific scorer, and Liberty coach Bill Laimbeer is proud of the strides she has made on defense.
That combination proved effective for Rodgers, who scored a career-high 15 points, including seven in the final 3 minutes, and played stellar defense on Sue Bird in the second half to help the Liberty beat the Seattle Storm 70-64 Tuesday night at the Garden.
“She was a great scorer in college and you saw the old Sugar Rodgers tonight. She made some great plays,” Laimbeer said of the former Georgetown star. “We knew she was a quality defender. She was on Sue Bird the whole second half. Both ends of the floor, she was the difference in the game.”
The Liberty trailed 62-54 with 2:55 left and had scored just one basket over the previous 13 minutes when Rodgers came to life. Her 3-pointer made it a five-point game. After Bird answered with a jumper, the Liberty scored the final 11 points of the game, including five by Rodgers. Her 3-pointer with 1:06 left tied it at 64.
Cappie Pondexter then hit a jumper with 24.9 seconds left to give the Liberty a lead. After Bird missed a pullup on the other end, Plenette Pierson hit two free throws to make it a four-point game. Rodgers then forced a turnover by Bird on the next possession to seal the win for the Liberty (2-2).
“It was great to contribute,” Rodgers said. “Once I came into the pros I knew I had to pick up my defense.”
It was the Liberty’s first win at the Garden this season and first since 2010. The Liberty spent the last three seasons playing in New Jersey while the Garden was undergoing a $1 billion renovation.
“The players were pressing a little to try and win here,” Laimbeer said. “Now hopefully we can relax a little bit.”
Tina Charles had 15 points and 14 rebounds for the Liberty, but shot just 6 for 19 from the field.
“We got some good looks, we didn’t finish some shots,” Laimbeer said.
Bird led Seattle (1-4) with 21 points, but only had four in the second half. Crystal Langhorne added 13 points and 15 rebounds.
“We let this one get away,” Bird said. “You try to get a few wins on the road and this was one of them we should have had.”