Liberty84
Sting70
Only a few weeks ago, the Liberty were in disarray.
Players were still learning the plays, defense was slacking, Sue Wicks was upset over being benched, the locker room was tense and the club was hanging below .500.
Funny what four straight wins can do.
After the Liberty’s not-as-close-as-it-sounds 84-70 victory over the Charlotte Sting at the Garden last night, Vickie Johnson guaranteed her team would win the title this season.
“I have no doubt,” Johnson said after leading the Liberty with 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting. “We’ll win the championship.”
Never mind that three of their last four wins have come against sub-.500 teams, or that at 11-9, the Liberty are in third place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind Cleveland. And disregard the fact that they begin a three-game road trip, with two of the meetings coming against Orlando and Los Angeles, two of the better teams in the league.
For now, after wiping out the 3-17 Sting, the Liberty are euphorically optimistic. How could they not be considering that seldom-used center Olga Firsova lit up the crowd of 14,073 with a coast-to-coast drive.
With the fans chanting her name, the 6-foot-6 center came in during the second half and scored a season-high three points.
“When they started to cheer for me, it was like, ‘Oh my God,’ ” Firsova said. “So many people know me.”
Becky Hammon, who replaced Crystal Robinson in the starting line-up, scored 16 points, while Weatherspoon added 10 points and seven assists for the Liberty, which have won six of eight games.
The Liberty came out attacking from the start, holding the Sting to 17.2 percent shooting en route to a 38-20 halftime lead. After building as much as a 30-point second half lead, the Liberty allowed the Sting to pull to within 13 with under a minute to play in the game.
Andrea Stinson led the Sting with 21 points.
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Discarded by Orlando, thrust aside by Portland, Tari Phillips has showed them the errors of their ways.
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Liberty center was named yesterday as a reserve on the East team in the WNBA All-Star game that will played in Phoenix Monday.
Chosen by a vote of league coaches, she will join East starters Weatherspoon and Wicks, as well as coach Richie Adubato, as Liberty representatives.
For Phillips, 30, making the All-Star team for the first time is the ultimate revenge against her two previous clubs.
“I’m glad I got a chance to express myself on the court,” Phillips said. “I’ve always had the ability.”
But given the starting job and extensive playing time, Phillips finally has been able to shine with the Liberty. Playing with a broken left foot since June 13, the Orlando native entered last night by averaging team-highs with 14.6 points and 7.9 rebounds.
By scoring over 20 points in five games and pulling down double-figures in rebounds seven times, Phillips has more than made up for the loss of center Kym Hampton, who retired before the season.
“She has exceeded our expectatations,” said Liberty general manager Carol Blazejowski, who landed Phillips one day before the season by trading high-scoring guard Carolyn Young Jones to Portland.