NEW YORK -- A technical foul on Tari Phillips was all the
motivation the New York Liberty needed against the Orlando Miracle.
|  | | New York's Teresa Weatherspoon, left, collides with Nykesha Sales of Orlando, but no foul was called. |
Phillips scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half and the
Liberty held the Miracle scoreless over the final 2½ minutes in a
72-60 victory Saturday.
Phillips got a technical for taunting after grabbing a rebound
for a putback and pointing her fingers at a defender with 4:47
remaining. The technical sparked the Liberty and Phillips, who
scored just two points in a 13-point loss at Orlando on Monday.
"This is our home court," said Phillips, who played for the
Miracle two seasons ago. "We're going to win this game no matter
what. Even though I didn't get the call, I'm not going to gripe
about it. I'm going to take it in stronger."
Elaine Powell made the technical free throw, tying the game at 58. Phillips made a layup and Orlando's Brooke Wyckoff countered
with a jumper -- the Miracle's last points -- to tie the score at 60
with 2:44 remaining.
New York went on a 12-0 run, highlighted by consecutive
3-pointers by Crystal Robinson. Vickie Johnson and Robinson each
finished with 14 points for the Liberty (9-4), who have won eight
of their last nine games.
With the game tied at 60, Robinson drained a 3-pointer with two seconds left on the shot clock and hit another from behind the arc
on the team's next possession to give the Liberty a 66-60 lead with
1:35 remaining.
Robinson finished 4-for-8 from 3-point range for New York,
which shot 47 percent from the field.
"She's incredible," Teresa Weatherspoon said of Robinson. "I
believe in her shot. I tell Crystal, 'Keep you head up because I'm
coming back to you. So have your hands ready.' Then Bingo."
Johnson threaded a pass to Sue Wicks for a layup in the paint to
give New York an eight-point cushion with 57 seconds left.
Weatherspoon added two free throws and Phillips had a layup to seal
the victory
Taj McWilliams-Franklin had all but two of her 14 points in the
second half for Orlando (4-8). Nykesha Sales, held scoreless in the
second half, finished with 14 points.
Orlando, which shot just 34 percent from the field, outrebounded
the Liberty 35-27 but had 19 turnovers. New York shot 9-for-21
(42.9 percent) from 3-point range, including 5-for-10 in the second
half.
McWilliams-Franklin opened the second half with three
consecutive baskets as Orlando took a 37-36 lead. New York used a
trapping press and zone defense for a 14-6 run, capped by Becky
Hammon's 3-pointer, for a 50-43 lead with 10:45 remaining.
The Miracle used a 7-0 run to tie the score at 50.
The Liberty responded with a 6-0 spurt, but Orlando matched the
outburst, capped by a three-point play by Shannon Johnson.
The Miracle missed 10 of 15 shots at the start of the game, but
took a 16-12 lead on a steal and layup by rookie Katie Douglas.
After New York missed its first six 3-pointers, Hammon connected
from behind the arc to tie the game at 18 with 7:31 remaining.
An alley-oop pass to Sales gave Orlando a 27-24 lead before
Johnson tied the game with a 3-pointer. Johnson also hit a baseline
jumper just before the buzzer to forge a 31-all halftime tie.
Sales was 5-for-8 from the field in the first half, but missed
all four attempts in the second half. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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ALSO SEE
WNBA Scoreboard
Orlando team page
New York team page
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