NEWARK, NJ - It's 'do or die' for the NY Liberty as they host the Indiana Fever in game two of the 2011 WNBA playoffs' opening round.
The Fever edged NY 74-72 in Indianapolis on Thursday to set up this crucial second game meeting. A few notes after the jump.
In game one both clubs were under 100 efficiency. The results :
POSS. EFF.
NY Liberty 77 94
Indiani 75 99
A few interesting 'oddities' via the Four Factors. The Liberty held a 36-19 offensive rebounding edge. One of the few times New york had an advantage on the offensive glass in an individual game this season. And it was a substantial one at that
Another interesting metric showed Indiana with a 36-16% edge in free throw rate (FTM/FGA). The fouls were fairly even (NY led 17-15) and the Liberty owned the offensive glass. Still, the Fever shot nine more from the line than the visitors.
FTA FTM
NY Liberty 11 14
Indiana 20 23
Indiana's Tammy Sutton-Brown led the way shooting 10 of 10 from the stripe en route to a 14 point night.
Watch Katie. As noted before the playoffs keeping Katie Douglas under control would be a major emphasis for the Liberty. Douglas led all scorers with 25 points. She knocked down a game high 4 treys (4 of 7) and shot an eFG percentage of 61% on the night. Should be interesting to see if John Whisenant has any changes defensively to contain Douglas while not totally surrendering the paint. Stay tuned.