Tina Charles scored a season low 6 points in Liberty’s Loss to Mystics

The New York Liberty struggled to maintain its home-court winning streak, as it fell to the Washington Mystics (74-59) on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. The team shot a season low 31-percent from the field after making a season-high of 71 attempted field goals. Essence Carson and Sugar Rodgers were the leading scorers for the Liberty with 12 points apiece. After leading the team for the past 3 games, Tina Charles scored a season-low 6 points.

New York Liberty guard Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers

Both teams experienced some trouble getting points on the scoreboard in the first quarter. It took three defensive rebounds, and 1 steal by guard Ivory Latta, for the Mystics to score its first 2 points of the game. After a strong defensive battle on the court, the teams barely made it into the double digits with a 12-12 tie at the end of the first quarter. The Liberty’s offensive decisions eventually pulled through in the beginning of the second quarter, allowing them to outscore the Mystics 9-3. However, the Mystics picked up quickly with just 2:21 remaining in the first half with a 13-0 run.

Washington managed to bring its lead up to as many as 15 points in the third quarter of the game. Although the Liberty were able to get their lead down to the single digits in the fourth, the Mystics made it nearly impossible for the Liberty to take the lead for another time in the remainder of the game.

Ivory Latta was the top scorer of the game with a total of 20 points; she also scored 3 out of 10 3-pointers for her team. Washington shot 44.3 percent and made 27 field goals which is a season high for a Liberty opponent. This was the second time that the Liberty had fallen to the Mystics this season. In the teams’ first meeting, the Liberty trailed by just 5 points. Head Coach, Bill Laimbeer believed this game exposed how much the team relies on their leading scorer, Tina Charles.

“We count so much on Tina (Charles) to score and she had a really bad game offensively... We have to find other ways to score. We’ve been getting by until tonight.”

Despite this loss bringing the Liberty down to the third spot in the Eastern Conference standings, with a 2-2 record, Guard Essence Carson keeps a positive outlook for the rest of the season.

New York Liberty guard/forward Essence Carson

“It’s a tough loss, but we will rebound from it and look to come out better. It is only the beginning.”

The Liberty will continue the remainder of its season without rookie forward, Rebecca Allen. She is out due to a cartilage injury to her right knee and will return to Australia where she will undergo surgery. The Liberty will try to grab another home court win on Friday, June 19th at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.

Ta'Shauna "Sugar" Rodgers