New York, 5/30: The Liberty started strong against the defending champion Los
Angeles Sparks, but ended up falling short, 90-75.
Tina Charles scored 25 points and Epiphanny Prince finished with 18 points and
five assists in the loss. High scorers for the Sparks were Candace Parker who
finished with a double-double – 20 points and 11 rebounds – and Nneka Ogwumike
with 22 points.
Charles didn’t miss a shot until 2:26 left in the first quarter. She was 4-for-4
from the field, responsible for the Liberty’s 9-0 run. She quickly followed her
first miss with a three-pointer, finishing the quarter with 14 points and
putting New York ahead 21-16.
Prince was the catalyst of a short-lived momentum shift at the end of the third
quarter for the Liberty as she knocked down a three, hit a layup and a foul
shot.
“I was just trying to be aggressive,” Prince said. “They were being more
aggressive than us, being more physical than us and I was just trying to make
something happen.”
In the second half, however, the Sparks outscored the Liberty, 54-37. It marked
the second game in a row in which the Liberty only scored 11 points in the
fourth quarter. Charles said the team needs to do a better job of focusing on
the details down the stretch in order to close out games.
“We know how to start games, obviously, we did great in the first half,” Charles
said. “Rebounding, pushing it in transition, all that will help us, we just have
to do it for forty minutes, we can’t pick and choose.”
Liberty head coach Bill Laimbeer said the detail the Liberty need to focus on is
toughness, both physically and mentally: “Every time we seem to face adversity
we have to get mentally stronger, we gave them too many easy baskets, second
shots, and that can’t happen against a quality team.”
The Sparks finished with 17 fast break points, dwarfing the Liberty’s five. New
York got to the foul line 12 times and shot 50%, compared to the Sparks who
drilled 23 of 27 attempts.
LOOKING FORWARD
The Liberty will seek to fine-tune their play without the help of Prince and Kia
Vaughn who will be competing in the 2017 Eurobasket Women FIBA World
Championship qualifying tournament. Prince will be playing for the Russian
national team, while Vaughn will be playing for the Czech Republic. The two are
critical to the Liberty’s success and will be gone for just shy of one month
-seven games out of the 34-game schedule.
Naturally that might mean that Charles will shoulder more of the scoring
responsibility, but she said she doesn’t feel any pressure – that’s her role,
and that’s what she’ll do.
“A great man told me that pressure is when someone asks you to do something you
can’t do.” Charles said.
That man is Geno Auriemma, her college basketball coach at the University of
Connecticut.
Charles wants to give her teammates confidence to compete the same way she plays
every night. Her leadership will be even more important with Prince and Vaughn
overseas because Laimbeer will use the next month as an opportunity to give
younger players the chance to step up.
He said one player in particular is Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe, who will have to try
to fill Vaughn’s role.
“She has all the energy in the world, she has quickness and hops, and a desire
to compete, a desire to play,” Laimbeer said. “She can make plays happen with
energy and that’s something we can really use right now.”
Raincock-Ekunwe has played the last four years in Europe and is ready for the
challenge.
“I definitely know I can contribute to this team, it’s just a very exciting
opportunity to show what I can do,” she said.
She comes in with more professional experience than a rookie fresh out of
college, having played internationally and with the Canadian national team.
Charles’ leadership style has helped ease Raincock-Ekunwe’s transition from
international ball to the faster pace of the WNBA.
“She’s a great leader, she’s constantly talking to us in practice, helping us
get better,” Raincock-Ekunwe said. “Having her as a role model for us younger
players has definitely helped me adjust and come into this league.”
Charles experience as a rookie informs her approach and reflects how veteran
player Asjha Jones was patient with Charles when she first came into the league.
“I’m just paying it forward and trying to help her [Raincock-Ekunwe],” Charles
said. “She has an impact on us in practice with how hard she goes so I’m just
trying to encourage her to make her a great player that I know she can be.”
The next month will be a challenge, but a challenge the entire Liberty squad is
looking forward to and gladly accepts.
