Tanisha Leads Liberty “Wright” Through Storm

(Photo by Jeff Auger – Double G Media)

The night belonged to Tanisha Wright from the start. It was apparent from her rainbow jumpers in the opening period. It was written in her searing drives through traffic. It was in the manner in which she ran the offense, calm, methodical, smart. These were the hallmarks of the New York Liberty (13-6) 78-74 victory over the Seattle Storm (6-12).

Though it was a wire-to-wire win, the cord threatened to loosen several times with 2016 WNBA No. 1 draft pick Brianna Stewart the culprit with her 24 points and 16 rebounds. “She’s finding her way of flourishing in our league, and that’s through her versatility,” Seattle Head Coach Jenny Boucek explained.

But, New York had Sugar Rodgers, who made the defensive play of the game with the Liberty just surviving a tie when Sue Bird missed the first of two free throws with 4.9 seconds left. Two Liberty free throws increased the lead to three with less than two seconds remaining. Brianna Stewart received the inbounds pass and made her bid to be the hero once more, but Rodgers stripped her and was fouled by Stewart in the same motion practically clinching the game.

Rodgers (14 points) scorched the baskets again with another three treys, adding to her league leading total of 57. She even added a career-high seven assists. In the fourth she made many crucial baskets along with the Liberty battleship, Tina Charles, who scored with her right hand, her left hand, outside, inside, wherever she chose to do it. Even though her record of nine straight 20-point efforts disappear, Charles still scored many of the much needed points to maintain the lead.

“It’s just a mindset, you try to be more efficient and I believe that a team gets better when individuals get better,” Tina summarized.

The best example was Tanisha Wright (18 points) who hit her first two jumpers to set the tone early. She had a jump in her step as she beat the Storm backcourt several times and posted her season high in points.

“She willed her shots in tonight, taking it upon herself to get big baskets when necessary,” Liberty Head Coach Bill Laimbeer appraised.

She even showed splash with a pretty bounce pass to Shavonte Zellous, who was the most vocal on the court as she continues to jell with her new team. From her range in the first quarter to clutch free throws at the end, the Liberty continue to thrive since Tanisha was restored to her starting point guard position.

Essentially, the key was doing what was needed to win. The Liberty improve to 5-4 at home and now move to Chicago on Friday, July 8, for an 8:30pm showdown at Allstate Arena against the Sky.