New York, NY – June 5, 2018 – The New York Liberty lost a hard-fought game against the visiting Phoenix Mercury, falling 80-74. The loss snaps the Liberty’s two-game win streak, and they now sit at 2-3 on the season.

A Marissa Coleman three-point jumper with 3:23 remaining gave the New York Liberty a one-point edge over the Phoenix Mercury. However, the Mercury responded a minute later and never looked back, taking the game 80-74 at Madison Square Garden, Tuesday afternoon. Tina Charles provided 25 points for the Liberty in what was a historic game for her, and Bria Hartley chipped in 18.

It was a back-and-forth affair throughout, including 17 lead changes, as neither team could pull ahead. While New York (2-3) dominated on the glass to the tune of a 39-21 advantage, Phoenix (5-3) made the most of its looks, shooting 50 percent from the field. The Mercury also got to the line 19 times, hitting 17 of them, while the Liberty made just three out of five.

Head coach Katie Smith began. “It was a tough one. Lots of opportunities to win this game tonight; they made plays we didn’t. Didn’t get the stops when we needed to. Lots of fouls. Lots of little things I think over the whole game that obviously put us in that position and we couldn’t quite get ourselves pulled away.”

With a driving layup in the first quarter, Tina Charles secured the 4876th point of her prolific career. She surpassed Hall-of-Famer and three-time MVP Sheryl Swoopes to move up to 19th on the WNBA all-time scoring list.

Brittany Boyd made her long-awaited return to the court, hitting a runner in the paint early in the second quarter for her first bucket in over a year. The guard has been out since mid-May of last season rehabbing from a torn Achilles’ tendon. She finished with two points in just four minutes of play.

After a three-game absence, sharpshooter Sugar Rodgers returned to the court as well. The Liberty came into the contest shooting just 28.9 percent from three, so the addition of another deep threat to the lineup greatly helped the Liberty attack. The guard hit just one of her four attempts from deep, but the team as a whole made nine out of 26, tying their season high.

Amanda Zahui B showed that opponents can’t ignore her behind the arc, hitting one from deep in the first half. The center made just two triples during in the 2017 season. She was an impact player when on the court, tallying nine points and eight rebounds in just under 16 minutes.

The Liberty trailed by just 5 points at halftime, despite shooting 39% from the field compared to Phoenix’s 58%. Offensive rebounds were a big reason why; New York brought down 16 offensive boards in the first half, while Phoenix had just one. For the game, the Liberty bested the Mercury on the offensive glass 19 to 3.

Bria Hartley had her highest scoring output of the season, finishing with 18 points, including 12 in the first half. It’s her highest point total since June 22nd 2014, when she dropped a career-high 26 points against Seattle.

After exploding for 34 points in Saturday’s overtime win at Indiana, Kia Nurse couldn’t replicate the performance against Phoenix. The rookie finished with five points, the lowest output of her career and her first time in single digits.

Tina Charles finished with 25 points, her third game in a row with at least 20. The forward had 19 such games last season, and she has yet to score less than 18 points in a 2018 contest.

NEW YORK COACH QUOTES

Katie Smith’s opening statement

“Tough one. Lots of opportunities to win this game tonight; they made plays we didn’t. Didn’t get the stops when we needed to. Lots of fouls. Lots of little things I think over the whole game that obviously put us in that position and we couldn’t quite get ourselves pulled away.”

Smith on team’s production…

“Lots of people did some good stuff. Tina [Charles] obviously had a good game and Bria [Hartley].”

Smith on the team’s turnovers…

“This is two games in a row that we’ve been careless with the basketball. I think we had 20 the other day against Indiana and they’re getting 18 points off of it so we just got to be a little bit stronger. You’re going to get some but too many turnovers that led to easy buckets for them. They scored off of those and helped their momentum.”

Smith on close games…

“I hope it shows us that all of the little stuff that happens throughout the ball game really does matter: a couple less turnovers, a couple more shots, rebounds, or just a couple better defensive assignments. They all are that important for the outcome.”

Smith on Tina Charles

“I think that she’s improved her three-point shot last year. Her versatility and being able to shoot it really spaces the floor and puts pressure on that defense. One thing I’m really impressed with is that she’s driving into the hole. When she attacks she’s really going to the rim and really taking the contact and going to finish.”

NEW YORK PLAYERS

Tina Charles on the loss…

“It wasn’t about Taurasi or Griner going off, everything is just in our control. Just executing at the end, locking down, playing defense and just the little things. We just hurt ourselves. We have a great team and great individuals in here [locker room] that can play. I think we proved that we can hang with anyone in this league. It’s just executing down the stretch.”

Charles on being shut out for the final 3:23…

“It was just us. We knew going in that we could get any shot we wanted. The fact that we didn’t score from that 3-minute mark, that’s just us.”

Marissa Coleman on playing her first home game in Madison Square Garden…

“It was fun. I’ve always liked playing here but to be on the Liberty and play here was a great experience.”

Coleman on this close game…

“It’s a lot of new faces, we are trying to learn each other and new coach. We do have a great team from top to bottom and no matter who we put on the floor they can make an impact. It’s just going to take time and it’s still really early. We had a lot of turnovers in crucial times and not executing plays well. The thing is, it’s all correctable and it’s on us.”

Kia Nurse on playing in Madison Square Garden…

“Playing here is extremely special as it’s an extremely special place. There’s so much history and so rich in basketball history. They crowd was great. The kids from the School Day were hilarious. It was a lot of fun and every time I’ve had the opportunity to play here, it has been a great time.”

Amanda Zahui B on playing in these tight games…

“I think when we play tough games it really shows the identity of the team. It shows what we can get better on even when win or lose. I think these tough games really show the kind of players that we have and what we can build on.”

Zahui B on the School Day game…

“I love playing during the Kids Day. All of these young souls and spirits out there sharing. It’s our chance to show them that they can achieve and goals and dreams that they put their minds to and hopefully they can come out to Westchester as well because that arena is beautiful.”

PHOENIX COACH

Sandy Brondello on Taurasi, Griner and Bronner…

“They are pretty special, aren’t they? I mean DeWanna made those two big threes, which certainly helped us. We worked hard, three games in five days, with this one being an 11 A.M. start. I’m really proud of the effort. We got fatigued there a little bit, but it’s good to win on the road. We need to win as many as we can. We have nine games on the road in June. Our big-time players have been big all season long. We got some momentum going. Moving Diana back to the one, was a good move. It makes everything a little bit smoother.”

Brondello on Taurasi’s execution…

“I don’t think there’s a better shooter or scorer than her in the game, and I don’t think there is a better passer, particularly in pressure situations. In 2014 she had the most assists in the league. When I didn’t have her in the one, she wasn’t as much of a playmaker so she was having lower assists totals. Since we’ve moved her to the one, she’s had eight, six and eight. That says so much about her. I can go on and on and on. I have so much respect for her. She’s just another coach out there and makes my job a little easier in that regard, and she just executed plays when we need them. She’s a great free throw shooter, and when the games close, we know we are in good hands.”

Brondello on rebounding differential…

“The first half was like, are you kidding me? If we could keep them off the offensive boards, we might actually be up by fifteen. We gave up sixteen offensive boards at half I believe. We were a little fatigued, there was a little lack of focus. It was a little bit of everything. It was an 11 o’clock game, traveling from Minnesota, to Atlanta, back up to New York. That’s not easy, especially when your getting big minutes. Credit to them though. They are winners, and they dug deep. We can’t allow teams nineteen offensive boards. We will get punished more. That is something we can control and I thought in the second half we did a better job. We went and got balls, because in the first half they jumped out and got the ball, and we weren’t being strong enough in getting the ball. It’s just finishing plays. Our defense for the most part was good. We had some breakdowns, like we always do in every game, but offensive rebounding, that’s something we can control.”

Brondello on Liberty’s scoring droughts…

“I think defensively, we buckled down. It shows that we are an experienced team. We have players who have been in these situations before. We did have one breakdown where we overhelped on the penetration but they can correct it really quickly. We recognize, okay, that’s not what we do. I thought we switched well, we had good communication, and we contested every shot. It’s good at the end of the game when you execute on that end.”

PHOENIX PLAYERS

Brittney Griner on late game execution…

“Coach emphasized take care of the ball, get a stop and just be active. If somebody is beat help them and the normal, no threes and no and 1’s.”

Griner on Liberty’s physical defense…

“I wouldn’t say it was the most physical game of the season yet, but it was pretty physical. Kia did a really good job of having contact with me but moving and not just standing and pounding So [Kia] being active but also having the pounding was probably the best I’ve played against.”

Griner on improvements for next game…

“Rebounding the ball. Giving them second chances that kills you. You know they get a rebound they kick it out they get a three or they put it back up and get a and 1 you know that hurts.”

Diana Taurasi on 8,000 career points…

“After playing with so many players, and so many coaches. I am happy I got to do it here with a Phoenix jersey on. I think that probably means more than all the points and all the championships I have. They took a chance on me in 2004 and they’ve had my back through a whole lot of stuff.”

Taurasi breaking record at MSG…

“Yes. They have the purest fans. They come to the games and support their Liberty. I’ve been coming here for 14 years now and its nothing but love. To do it here [the Garden] is pretty special.”

Taurasi on the season thus far…

“I think we are rolling a bit right now. People are playing well. I think we are trying to find different ways to maximize what we have. Talent wise, and structure wise, figuring out what to do on defense and offense. I think we are figuring things out.”

DeWanna Bonner on team’s three-point shooting…

“They were keying in on Griner and leaving me open on the three in their scramble. If I get the ball I am going to shoot, and it turned out good in our favor.”