Teresa Weatherspoon did it in 1999. Becky Hammon did it in 2006. Both accomplished it on the road.
Yet as the halftime buzzer sounded Sunday, New York Liberty guard Leilani Mitchell threw in a desperate half-court shot that went swoosh, and made the score 32-30 New York. 13,397 screaming fans at Madison Square Garden rejoiced with her.
However, it was the last lead the Liberty would enjoy.
The visiting Connecticut Sun, who one night earlier convincingly lost a home game by 12 points, opened the third quarter with a 14-0 run Sunday. They continued to pour their offense and defense on in the second half, running away with a 66-57 victory in the Big Apple.
Perennial all-star guard Lindsay Whalen led all scorers with 14 points, and was one of four Sun players in double figures.
"Anytime you get people to put up multiple figures, that's how you win," says Whalen. "We're a team...and everybody stepped up today."
Whalen was an integral part of the aforementioned 14-0 feat, which led the Sun to outscore the Liberty 19-6 in the third quarter. While Mitchell's miracle shot caught everyone by surprise, Whalen says it didn't faze her and her teammates.
"She made a great shot," admits Whalen. "But like coach said, we could have done a better job of forcing her not to have a free-range shot."
"It was obviously a lucky shot," claims Sun guard Erin Phillips. "I didn't think that was the turning point for us. We just wanted to pick up the aggression, and we did. And defense was awesome."
Phillips chipped in 13 points, while Tamika Whitmore came off the bench to score 11, and forward Ashja Jones contributed 10. Whalen also grabbed 12 rebounds, outpacing the next best board-getter by 5; New York's Cathrine Kraayeveld had 7.
Liberty Optimistic
Much went right for New York despite the loss. Shameka Christon led the scoring with 13 points. Anne Donovan made her return to the WNBA, sporting an assistant coaching role with the Liberty. First round draft success Kia Vaughn made her WNBA debut, scoring four points.
“It was nice,” Vaughn remarks about her first professional game, as she hurried to an autograph-signing session.
Next Liberty Home Game
New York will only play two more games at the Garden in the month of June. They return home on Friday June 19th to take on Becky Hammon and the San Antonio Silver Stars.
Mitchell says from Sunday’s loss, things can only get better.
“There’s lots we can work on,” she says. “We head out tomorrow for some more games…we’ll bounce back from this.”
