| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Cleveland Rockers got off to a quick
start and the New York Liberty are one loss from being finished.
The Rockers never trailed after the opening minute, built a
14-point first-half lead and cruised to a 56-43 victory over the
Liberty in the opener of the Eastern Conference finals.
Rushia Brown scored 18 points to lead a balanced attack for the
Rockers, who improved to 3-0 at home in the postseason and are
one win away from their first trip to the WNBA Championship.
The Liberty won the East and swept the Washington Mystics in
their first-round series. But they shot an awful 31 percent
(16-of-51) from the field and trailed by as many as 18 points.
"I thought defensively this is what we have to do to be
successful," Rockers coach Dan Hughes said. "It enables us to do
our thing, which is to play a little bit in transition, which I
think is important in this game. New York is such a good
half-court team."
"The Rockers are a good team at home (16-3)," Liberty coach
Richie Adubato said. "They say we are a physical team, but they
(Cleveland) were extremely physical tonight. They made us look
like we were made of papier mache. They were extremely
aggressive in every way and we didn't retaliate."
The best-of-three series shifts to New York for Game Two on
Sunday and perhaps Game Three on Monday. The Liberty, who
reached the championship round last year, have won 11 straight
home games. The Rockers are 3-14 on the road this year.
"When we left the locker room to start the first half, the coach
told us to play strong," said Rockers guard Merlakia Jones, who
scored 12 points. "This game was crucial for us because we have
had our problems on the road. This is a new season and we are
going to New York thinking positively."
Suzie McConnell Serio had 10 points and five assists and Chasity
Melvin had eight points and nine rebounds for the Rockers, who
shot 41 percent (21-of-51) and held a 34-22 advantage on the glass.
"That was a very playoff-type game," Hughes said. "Defensively,
both teams made it tough on the other team to score."
Tari Phillips scored 11 points and was the only player in double
figures for the Liberty. Vickie Johnson, who averaged 12.3
points during the season, managed two on 1-of-14 shooting.
"We just stayed in plays with her," Hughes said. "There wasn't
anything specific that we did. But I thought Mery (Andrade) was
in a lot of plays with her. Johnson always had to shoot with a hand in her face."
A three-point play by Phillips had New York within 14-11 with
9:23 left in the first half before Cleveland took control for
good with a 9-2 run. Brown scored five points before a layup by
Helen Darling made it 23-13 with 5:16 remaining.
New York's Tamika Whitmore made a layup, but Brown made a free
throw, McConnell Serio hit a 3-pointer and Jones hit a jumper
for a 29-15 lead with 2:04 to go.
"We couldn't knock down our shots and we were running in mud
early," Adubato said. "We usually get the rebounds and loose
balls. They just did a great job on us and we were a step
behind."
Despite scoring the last six points of the half, the Liberty
shot just 38 percent (8-of-21) and committed 12 turnovers.
New York went scoreless for nearly the first three minutes of
the second half and never made a charge. The Rockers led by no
less than nine points and opened a 56-38 advantage on Melvin's
two free throws with 2:07 remaining.
"We just got pushed around a little bit," Phillips said. "It was
a little difficult inside and there was a lot of holding. We
were not aggressive and you can't do that against the Rockers."
| |
ALSO SEE
WNBA Scoreboard
RECAPS
Cleveland 56
New York 43
Houston 77
Los Angeles 56
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Rushia Brown gets the sweet entry pass from Suzie McConnell Serio.
avi: 822 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Tari Phillips denies Rushia Brown the open basket.
avi: 647 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|
