Liberty Rally Late On Pride Night To Steal a Game Against The Dallas Wings

Liberty Rally Late On Pride Night To Steal a Game Against The Dallas Wings

The New York Liberty are trying to turn things around in this early season. Fortunately for them, things are starting to bounce in their favor.

Reshanda Gray hit one of two from the charity stripe to give the Liberty a one-point lead, and a missed three-point shot by Arike Ogunbowale sealed Friday night’s 69-68 win for New York.

The victory was particularly sweet with the Liberty down four players, three of whom are playing in the FIBA Europe Women’s Championship, being played in Latvia and Serbia.

https://twitter.com/nyliberty/status/1144781158741422081

The Liberty trailed the majority of the fourth quarter, finally tying the game at 68 off of a Gray layup with just under two minutes to play. With 24 seconds left, Gray was fouled after recovering an offensive rebound off a Brittany Boyd miss, leading to her game-winning free throw.

Gray recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds in her first start of the season. Kia Nurse was the high scorer for the Liberty with 17 points. Tina Charles contributed 15 points, but on 5-of-19 shooting. Charles has shot just 30 percent over the last three games.

“I’m glad we got the W.” Said Liberty head coach Katie Smith.”We got a lot of contribution from a lot of people. The tone was set on how aggressive Tina Charles was on the offensive end. The way she attacked set the tone for us and created a lot of opportunities for others.”

The Liberty Clamped Down When Need To Down The Stretch 

Dallas came into the game following a victory over the league-leading Connecticut Sun, but their poor road performances continued as they fell to 0-5 on the road. The Wings shot 32.8 percent and were outscored 14-7 over the last seven minutes of play. Despite Kayla Thornton setting a new career-high with 20 points, the Wings only had two other players in double figures.  The Liberty doubled Dallas’ points in the paint scoring 44 compared to their 22. If it wasn’t for their defensive and rebounding, the Liberty would have lost this game convincingly.

D-FENSE! D-FENSE! D-FENSE!

VOTE: https://t.co/Yip14VkTiB #WNBAALLSTAR pic.twitter.com/9ogpcM0ZDA

— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) June 29, 2019

“‘We had to make sure we had our coverage right.” Said Smith. “Especially rebounding. We made sure we knew how to guard things and made sure we helped everywhere we can and finishing the play and locking in.”

All The Help The Liberty Can Get

On Friday afternoon the New York Liberty announced that they have signed Avery Warley-Talbert, who in 2019 previously appeared on New York’s May practice squad and appeared in all four preseason games.

The Liberty were granted an emergency salary cap exception by the league amid an injured Rebecca Allen and four players currently on international commitments for Eurobasket, including Amanda Zahui B (Sweden), Kiah Stokes (Turkey), Bria Harley (France) and rookie guard Marine Johannes (France).

That’s It For Charmin Smith

New York Liberty assistant coach Charmin Smith was switching coasts after Friday night’s game against the Dallas Wings. The former WNBA guard had accepted a deal to return to Cal-Berkeley and become the head coach of the Golden Bears.

“This has been an amazing experience.” Said Charmin. “I especially learned from Katie. The way she draws up plays in game is amazing. We were able to execute. I would not be prepared for my next step as head coach if I didn’t have these two months with the Liberty.”

Next Up For The Liberty

New York has now won four of seven after starting off 0-4. They will hit the road for a trio, beginning with a Sunday afternoon visit to Atlanta (3:00 p.m. ET, WNBA League Pass).