After losing their opening five games for the first time ever, the New York Liberty finally got in the win column their last time out behind a stifling defensive display. <\/p>\n
They'll likely need to clamp down again with the Angel McCoughtry-led Atlanta Dream coming to town. <\/p>\n
The Liberty look to make it two in a row Tuesday night against a Dream club trying to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time in nearly a year. <\/p>\n
Allowing an Eastern Conference-worst 85.5 points per game, New York (1-5) was outscored by an average of 17.4 during its winless start. It ended the skid with an 87-72 victory over Indiana in the back end of a home-and-home set Sunday. <\/p>\n
Four-time WNBA All-Star Cappie Pondexter scored a season-high 25 points for the Liberty, who were blown out by the Fever 91-68 the night before. <\/p>\n
\"We were extra motivated, everybody was angry,\" Pondexter said. \"We finally got a win under our belt. ... We're happy about it. Winning changes everything. (The win) feels awesome but it's a long season ahead of us. We just got to continue to keep going, staying positive with each other and just keep working. <\/p>\n
\"We made a lot of mistakes in our previous five games, where we knew we had the game and then lost it down the stretch. ... But (Sunday) we stuck together. I think that's a real positive.\" <\/p>\n
New York held Indiana to 40.4 percent shooting and scored 27 points off 22 turnovers. The Liberty had forced an average of 12.8 turnovers during their losing streak. <\/p>\n
\"We got back to what gives us a chance to compete with anybody in the league, and that is our defense,\" coach John Whisenant said. \"We had even distribution of our scoring. When we play defense harder, our offense is better.\" <\/p>\n
The Liberty could be in for a tough test versus McCoughtry, whose 22.6 points per game rank second in the league. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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Dream-Liberty Preview<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After losing their opening five games for the first time ever, the New York Liberty finally got in the win column their last time out behind a stifling defensive display. Continue reading