Two games hosted at the Prudential Center. The result, a .500 weekend. On Friday evening the Liberty were defeated by the Connecticut Sun 68-59 while the home team reversed the fortunes with an 88-57 triumph over Tulsa on Sunday.
The basic numbers from the Connecticut game:
Possessions Offensive Efficiency
Connecticut 78 .87
NY Liberty 73 .81
First thought: holding a team to .87 offensive efficiency constitutes a good defensive showing that will win a lot of games. Just not the ones where your offense sputters along at an .81 efficiency. The Liberty took one third of their field goal attempts from beyond the arc. They connected at a 6 of 21 (29%) rate. the Sun were actually worse from three with a 5 of 21 performance for 24%. Connecticut did a slightly better job getting to the line as free throw rate figures show :
Connecticut 17%
NY Liberty 8%
Kia Vaughn had a nice 15 point 9 rebounding (both team pace setting figures) effort. Without Plenette Pierson (patella tendon strain) the inside game the Liberty has been searching for, was not present. Despite the fine efforts of the aforementioned Vaughn.
Cappie Pondexter took blame for the loss. She scored 11 points shooting 5 of 14 from the floor with 7 turnovers. The Win Score metric also bears out the night she had and may want to forget.
Win Score
Pondexter -6.5
The Scoring leaders :
Points Win Score
Tina Charles, Connecticut 15 3
Kia Vaughn, NY Liberty 15 13
Vaughn had 4 turnovers but that was probably the lone negative. The former Rutgers star shot 6 of 9 from the floor, grabbed 9 boards (four on the much needed offensive end) while contributing 3 assists and steals. It all added to a strong showing that Win Scores notably reflects.
Less than 48 hours after being unable to meet the challenge imposed by Connecticut, the Liberty dominated their visitors from Tulsa. The possession based numbers in the 88-57 Liberty romp.
Possessions Offensive Efficiency
Tulsa 74 .77
NY Liberty 72 1.22
The Liberty did it on defense. Not so much by forcing turnovers as Tulsa had a 20% rate. That is a good rate for a defense to impose but not indicative of an all out pressure scenario. The area that stands out here is eFG percentage:
Tulsa 38%
NY Liberty 57%
New york was 5 of 12 from three point land. The Shock attempted 40 % of the field goals from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, they hit just 5 for a 20% percentage. The return of Pierson helped the Liberty inside game. She played just 16 mutes but gave New York 12 points, 4 rebounds on 5 of 9 shooting. Most important, Pierson gave that added presence in the paint.
The Liberty's dominant inside display was reflected in very healthy numbers. Specifically free throw rate and offensive rebounding percentage:
FT Rate OREB Percentage
Tulsa 16% 27%
NY Liberty 36% 52%
Granted, the Shock are now 1-14. Regardless, a strong inside showing, even against a lesser opponent has to be a positive for John Whisenant's club. In the the turnover department, no one on the Liberty exceeded three. Cappie Pondexter, guilty of the less than 'magnificent seven' on Friday, committed one and led all scorers with 18 points. What a difference 48 hours makes.
The Leading scorers and Win Score:
Points Win Score
Cappie Pondexter, NY 18 10.5
Essence Carson, NY 17 5
Tiffany Jackson, Tulsa 17 10.5
Jackson's performance was aided, or highlighted by, a game high 11 boards and 7 of 11 shooting from the floor. For Pondexter, a 17 'point' Win Score turn around from Friday.
Finally, a number not to forget, the Liberty are now 9-6 on the season.