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Liberty Beat Mercury, Set RecordJackson Scores 21, Moore Returns, New York RompsThe New York Liberty set a franchise scoring record, torching the visiting Phoenix Mercury 105-72.
The planet Mercury ended its retrograde phase on June 19th. Yet the WNBA team with the same name found itself back in a similar predicament on the 22nd. New York Liberty fans welcomed the official start to their summer by adding another milestone to their storied history. Most of the six New York players in double figures shot exceptionally well from 3-point country and closer, as the Liberty towered over the defending champion Phoenix Mercury 105-72. The Libs set a team scoring record with the win. Forward Tiffany Jackson led all New York scorers with 21 points, making all eight of the field goals she shot and also sinking five free throws. Along the way, she grabbed seven rebounds and totaled three assists. "I think our offense really concentrated on going inside first and working our way out...trying to open stuff up inside," says Jackson, whose 21 was also her career high here in her second pro season. "We also got very good open looks." Moore ReturnsJackson was one of many Liberty players revitalized by the return of guard Loree Moore, who hadn't played since June 3rd due to injury. Moore spent less than 20 minutes on the court (19:46) yet scored 12, hit 3-of-4 from downtown (4-of-6 overall), and collected five boards, all defensively. "I think it was a little emotional for everyone, even for me...I was very excited to come back," says Moore. "I think we all fed off each other, you know, things were just cooking for us." Following Jackson's 21 points were Ashley Battle's 17, Moore and center Janel McCarville who each threw in 12, forward Cathrine Kraayeveld's 11, and guard Lisa Willis' 10 points off the bench. Phoenix's Fast Start FizzlesEarly on it appeared as though the day might have been right for Mercury Magic. They built a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes. Yet the Liberty closed out the first quarter on a 28-8 run, and never really slowed down, leading by as many as 35. Forward Diana Taurasi (21 points, two rebounds, three assists) says she can't remember a more adverse Phoenix loss since her 2004 arrival. "They put the torch right up our a----," says Taurasi. "You've got to look to look at it like, 'man what the hell did we do to get our...souls handed to us tonight? They played really well, we played really bad. We've got to go...Tuesday against D.C., and go play another game. No point in dragging this loss along." "It was a bad game," a disgusted and otherwise laconic head coach Corey Gaines kept repeating. "Everybody has bad games. Kobe has bad games. Jordan had bad games. When I played here, Ewing had bad games. It was a bad game." Still A Young SeasonThe 'bad game' was the first of a five-game road trip that the Mercury vow to turn around starting Tuesday in Washington against the Mystics. The renewedly confident Liberty head to Minnesota Tuesday to face the Lynx. Minnesota has lost five straight and 6 of their last 7 after starting 5-0. Liberty players however say they won't get carried away by their recent success and Minnesota's troubles. "We definitely want to take momentum going into Minnesota, but we can't get too high," admits Tiffany Jackson. "We know they're a good team, and they'll have their leader back, Lindsay Harding." The Liberty and Mercury will meet again in Phoenix on July 5th.
The copyright of the article Liberty Beat Mercury, Set Record in Basketball is owned by Mark Fontes. Permission to republish Liberty Beat Mercury, Set Record in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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