Charles, Liberty beat Mystics 79-74 to reach East finals

“A lot was the start”.

“You have your practiced moments”, Rodgers said, “but just before practice, after practice, I get in my own zone and I just get in the gym and work”.

“We held her out today and it’s unclear for tomorrow”, Laimbeer said. “The first 5 minutes of the game and the half are huge and we had energy in both of them”. It was the kind of game in which the Liberty looked so strong, it actually seemed as if they won by more than 17 points. Throw in Tamika Catchings – who is now tied for second in WNBA history in career playoff games – and you have a team that can easily rebound in Game 2. He’s performing Mass at the Garden on Friday and the building is closed today to prepare for it. “[It’s the] Pope…. arena availability is tough sometimes”. Still the 7,000 fans that were at the Garden was loud and supportive.

As good as New York is defensively, they were second-worst in opponent three-point percentage, allowing teams to convert 35 percent of their attempts.

Charles named several of her inspirations, including one who called New York home for a decade and a half.

Indiana Fever guard Shenise Johnson (42) drives to the basket past… If Indiana’s three-point shooting can spread New York’s defense out, then they may have an even better chance to pull the upset. Ahead 68-51, Prince drove in for a layup and went crashing to the floor on a foul by Catchings. By the beginning of the third quarter, the lead was down to four before Prince kicked out a pass to Tanisha Wright, who sent it right back to Prince along the baseline.

Teammate Kiah Stokes, a Liberty rookie, said Charles pretty much never rests. “I think she has the potential to be one of the greatest players that’s ever played this game”. She is always going over things in her head, considering the possibilities, trying to account for whatever she and her team might face next. We didn’t have the focus we had in the Chicago series.

“We laid an egg”.

Losing Game 1 is nothing new to Indiana, which dropped the opener of its series with Chicago before winning the next two games.

BACK AGAIN: The Indiana Fever are back in the Eastern Conference finals for the fifth straight season, matching the league record set by Los Angeles from 1999-03. New York was making its first appearance in the Eastern Conference finals since 2010. Stephanie White thinks highly of the Liberty forward. “They made all the hustle plays”.

The Liberty was on fire from the very beginning, thanks to contributions from Stokes and Sugar Rodgers, two of the standouts in the clinching Game 3 against the Mystics, the Liberty’s second elimination game in a row.