Good news for the Liberty: Guard Cappie Pondexter has been named a starter for the WNBA All-Star Game on July 23 in San Antonio. It will be Pondexter’s fourth appearance in the game and first with the Liberty.
Better news for the Liberty: Forward Plenette Pierson, who suffered a strained patella tendon in her left knee in Wednesday’s win over Atlanta, has been cleared to play tonight when the Liberty (8-5), going for their fifth straight win, play host to the Connecticut Sun (6-5) at Prudential Center.
Some might argue that we got it wrong — that Pondexter’s honor is better news than Pierson’s health. But the reality is while Pondexter’s play this season has been nothing short of sensational, the All-Star honor won’t help the Liberty win another game.
But if Pierson, the Liberty’s second-leading rebounding and best frontcourt defender, had suffered a serious injury, it would have been a devastating blow that likely would have deep-sixed the season.
“I would agree with that,” Liberty coach John Whisenant said. “Cappie’s our star. She’s obviously one of the elite players in the game. But Plenette, I coached against her when she was with Detroit, and Bill Laimbeer, rightly so, used her as a three-, four-, five-minute spark off the bench to energize his team.
“What she has done is taken all her knowledge, all her experience and developed into a really difficult post player to match up with,” Whisenant added. “If her coach keeps her fresh, she can continue to give us that energy every game.”
Pierson, who was positioning for a rebound, had her left knee accidentally rolled by Atlanta center Courtney Paris, who was on the floor under the basket with 4:57 left in the third quarter. It looked much like the kind of injury suffered by NFL offensive linemen.
Pierson, listed as probable for tonight, was helped to the locker room where she was examined by members of the team medical staff. No ligament damage was sustained, and Whisenant said Pierson was sore but did not have significant swelling.