2010 New York Liberty season

2010 New York Liberty season
Coach	Anne Donovan
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Attendance	11,069 per game
Results
Record	22–12 (.647)
Place	2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost Conference Finals
Team Leaders
Points	Pondexter (21.4)
Rebounds	McCarville (5.9)
Assists	Pondexter (4.9)
Media
Television	MSG NBATV, ESPN2
← 2009 season 2011 season →

The 2010 WNBA season was the 14th season for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association.

Transactions

Dispersal draft

Based on the Liberty's 2009 record, they would pick 1st in the Sacramento Monarchs dispersal draft. The Liberty picked Nicole Powell.

WNBA draft

The following are the Liberty's selections in the 2010 WNBA draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/team/country
2	13	Kalana Greene	United States	Connecticut
2	16 (from Chi.)	Ashley Houts	United States	Georgia
3	25	Cory Montgomery	United States	Nebraska

Transaction log

• May 5, 2009: The Liberty traded their first-round pick in the 2010 Draft to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for Sidney Spencer.
• March 30: The Liberty traded Shameka Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld to the Chicago Sky in exchange for the Sky's second-round pick in the 2010 Draft. The Liberty also received Cappie Pondexter and Kelly Mazzante from the Phoenix Mercury as part of the three-team trade.
• April 6: The Liberty waived Loree Moore.
• April 8: The Liberty waived Kelly Mazzante.
• April 20: The Liberty released Ashley Battle.
• April 22: The Liberty signed free agent Taj McWilliams-Franklin.
• April 23: The Liberty signed Brandie Hoskins, Laine Selwyn, Tamara James, April Phillips, Katie Mattera and Erica Williamson to training camp contracts.
• April 28: The Liberty waived Brandie Hoskins.
• May 3: The Liberty waived Laine Selwyn.
• May 4: The Liberty waived Katie Mattera.
• May 9: The Liberty waived Cory Montgomery and Tamara James.
• May 12: The Liberty traded Ashley Houts to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Nikki Blue.
• June 14: The Liberty traded Tiffany Jackson to the Tulsa Shock in exchange for Plenette Pierson.

Trades

Date	Trade
May 5, 2009	To New York Liberty	To Los Angeles Sparks
	Sidney Spencer	first-round pick in 2010 Draft
March 30, 2010	To New York Liberty	To Chicago Sky
	Cappie Pondexter, Kelly Mazzante (from Phx.) and Chicago's second-round pick in 2010 Draft	Shameka Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld
June 14, 2010	To New York Liberty	To Tulsa Shock
	Plenette Pierson	Tiffany Jackson

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Nicole Powell December 14, 2009 Sacramento Monarchs Cappie Pondexter March 30, 2010 Phoenix Mercury Taj McWilliams-Franklin April 22, 2010 Tulsa Shock Nikki Blue May 12, 2010 Washington Mystics Plenette Pierson July 23, 2010 Tulsa Shock

Subtractions Player Left New team Shameka Christon March 30, 2010 Chicago Sky Cathrine Kraayeveld March 30, 2010 Chicago Sky Loree Moore April 6, 2010 Seattle Storm Ashley Battle April 20, 2010 free agent Tiffany Jackson July 23, 2010 Tulsa Shock

Roster

2010 New York Liberty roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight From PG 1 Blue, Nikki 5' 8" (1.73m) 163 lb (74kg) UCLA G/F 17 Carson, Essence 6' 0" (1.83m) 165 lb (75kg) Rutgers G 32 Greene, Kalana 5' 10" (1.78m) 170 lb (77kg) Connecticut C 4 McCarville, Janel 6' 2" (1.88m) 205 lb (93kg) Minnesota F 7 McWilliams-Franklin, Taj 6' 2" (1.88m) 188 lb (85kg) St. Edward's University PG 5 Mitchell, Leilani 5' 5" (1.65m) 130 lb (59kg) Utah SF 33 Pierson, Plenette 6' 2" (1.88m) 178 lb (81kg) Texas Tech SG 23 Pondexter, Cappie 5' 9" (1.75m) 160 lb (73kg) Rutgers F 14 Powell, Nicole 6' 2" (1.88m) 175 lb (79kg) Stanford G/F 6 Spencer, Sidney 6' 3" (1.91m) 183 lb (83kg) Tennessee C 15 Vaughn, Kia 6' 4" (1.93m) 200 lb (91kg) Rutgers	Head coach Anne Donovan (Old Dominion) Assistant coaches Laurie Byrd (Eastern Michigan) Catherine Proto (Springfield) Athletic trainer Lisa White (Stony Brook) Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Duffy Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured   WNBA roster page

Depth

Pos.	Starter	Bench
C	Taj McWilliams-Franklin	Kia Vaughn
PF	Janel McCarville	Plenette Pierson
SF	Nicole Powell	Kalana Greene / Sidney Spencer
SG	Cappie Pondexter	Essence Carson
PG	Leilani Mitchell	Nikki Blue

Season standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
Washington Mystics x	22	12	.647	–	13–4	9–8	13–9
New York Liberty x	22	12	.647	–	13–4	9–8	14–8
Indiana Fever x	21	13	.618	1.0	13–4	8–9	13–9
Atlanta Dream x	19	15	.559	3.0	10–7	9–8	10–12
Connecticut Sun o	17	17	.500	5.0	12–5	5–12	9–13
Chicago Sky o	14	20	.412	8.0	7–10	7–10	7–15

Schedule

Preseason

2010 Game Log: Preseason Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 May 5 11:30am @ Washington 60-65 McWilliams-Franklin (12) McWilliams-Franklin (11) Mitchell (4) Verizon Center 7,152 0-1 2 May 11 10:30am Connecticut 89-84 (3OT) Greene, Pondexter (14) Pondexter (11) Pondexter (8) Madison Square Garden 19,763 1-1

Regular season

2010 Game Log: Regular Season
May Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 May 16 4:00pm Chicago NBATV MSG CN100 85-82 Pondexter (22) McCarville (6) Mitchell (9) Madison Square Garden 12,088 1-0 2 May 21 7:00pm @ Washington 61-77 Pondexter (14) Powell (7) Pondexter (8) Verizon Center 10,158 1-1 3 May 23 4:00pm Atlanta 77-86 Pondexter (21) McCarville (9) Mitchell, Pondexter, Powell (5) Madison Square Garden 9,548 1-2 4 May 28 8:00pm @ San Antonio 77-71 Pondexter (21) McCarville, Powell (7) Pondexter (7) AT&T Center 5,293 2-2
June Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 5 June 4 7:00pm @ Connecticut 68-75 McCarville, McWilliams-Franklin (14) McCarville (13) McCarville (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,493 2-3 6 June 5 7:00pm @ Indiana 73-78 Pondexter (21) Pondexter (7) Pondexter (5) Conseco Fieldhouse 8,090 2-4 7 June 8 8:00pm @ Chicago CN100 85-70 Pondexter (31) McWilliams-Franklin (9) McWilliams-Franklin, Pondexter, Powell (3) Allstate Arena 2,408 3-4 8 June 11 7:30pm Atlanta 91-79 Pondexter (25) Jackson, McWilliams-Franklin (6) Pondexter (7) Madison Square Garden 8,332 4-4 9 June 12 7:00pm @ Washington CSN-MA 65-82 Pondexter (20) McCarville (6) Pondexter (3) Verizon Center 8,492 4-5 10 June 18 7:30pm Seattle 84-92 Pondexter (24) Powell (6) Mitchell (5) Madison Square Garden 8,883 4-6 11 June 22 7:30pm Minnesota 68-75 Pondexter (16) Powell (9) Pondexter (5) Madison Square Garden 7,537 4-7 12 June 25 8:00pm @ Tulsa COX 92-78 Mitchell (20) McWilliams-Franklin (11) McWilliams-Franklin, Powell (6) BOK Center 4,554 5-7 13 June 27 4:00pm Connecticut CSN-NE 77-68 Pondexter (19) Powell (10) McWilliams-Franklin (5) Madison Square Garden 15,293 6-7 14 June 29 10:30pm @ Los Angeles NBATV PRIME 80-68 Pondexter (19) McWilliams-Franklin, Powell (7) Mitchell, Pondexter (5) STAPLES Center 8,602 7-7
July Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 15 July 3 10:00pm @ Phoenix 82-97 Pondexter (21) McCarville, Pierson, Pondexter (6) Mitchell (5) US Airways Center 6,780 7-8 16 July 6 3:00pm @ Seattle 70-78 McWilliams-Franklin (20) McWilliams-Franklin (10) Pondexter (5) KeyArena 11,012 7-9 17 July 11 4:00pm Chicago MSG 57-54 Pondexter (30) McWilliams-Franklin, Pondexter (8) McCarville (4) Madison Square Garden 9,644 8-9 18 July 15 12:00pm Washington 75-67 Pondexter (17) McCarville (12) Pondexter (7) Madison Square Garden 18,162 9-9 19 July 18 4:00pm Indiana MSG 81-84 (OT) Pondexter (40) McCarville, Pondexter (6) Pondexter (7) Madison Square Garden 9,508 9-10 20 July 20 8:00pm @ Connecticut ESPN2 82-74 (OT) Pondexter (24) McCarville, Mitchell (8) Pondexter (6) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,478 10-10 21 July 23 8:30pm @ Chicago CN100 79-71 McWilliams-Franklin (18) Powell (7) Pondexter (6) Allstate Arena 5,256 11-10 22 July 25 3:00pm @ Atlanta NBATV SSO 75-82 Pondexter (26) Pierson (6) Pondexter (6) Philips Arena 7,030 11-11 23 July 27 7:30pm San Antonio ESPN2 77-72 Greene (17) Pierson (8) Mitchell (8) Madison Square Garden 10,712 12-11 24 July 30 7:30pm Los Angeles 88-79 Pondexter (20) McWilliams-Franklin (9) Mitchell (5) Madison Square Garden 14,307 13-11
August Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 25 August 1 4:00pm Connecticut MSG 71-67 Pondexter (24) McCarville, Pierson (6) Powell (5) Madison Square Garden 9,341 14-11 26 August 3 7:00pm @ Indiana FS-I 82-72 Powell (20) McCarville (10) Pondexter (5) Conseco Fieldhouse 7,540 15-11 27 August 6 7:30pm Washington 85-77 Pondexter (23) McCarville (5) Mitchell (6) Madison Square Garden 11,465 16-11 28 August 8 7:00pm @ Minnesota NBATV FS-N 74-72 Powell (21) McCarville (8) Mitchell, Pondexter, Powell (4) Target Center 9,016 17-11 29 August 13 7:00pm @ Atlanta SSO 90-83 Pondexter (31) Carson (7) McWilliams-Franklin (7) Philips Arena 6,025 18-11 30 August 14 7:30pm Phoenix NBATV MSG 107-69 Pondexter (28) Pierson (9) McCarville (6) Madison Square Garden 9,645 19-11 31 August 17 7:30pm Indiana 78-57 Pondexter (19) McWilliams-Franklin (10) Pondexter (6) Madison Square Garden 8,953 20-11 32 August 19 7:30pm Tulsa 95-85 Powell (20) Pierson (8) Mitchell (8) Madison Square Garden 8,766 21-11 33 August 20 7:00pm @ Washington 74-75 Pondexter (28) McCarville, McWilliams-Franklin, Powell (6) Powell (5) Verizon Center 13,109 21-12 34 August 22 4:00pm Connecticut MSG 88-87 (OT) Pondexter (31) Powell (8) Pondexter (6) Madison Square Garden 15,989 22-12
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess

Postseason

2010 Game Log: Postseason
Eastern Conference Semifinals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 August 26 7:00pm Indiana NBATV MSG 85-73 Pondexter (28) McWilliams-Franklin (10) McCarville (7) Madison Square Garden 14,624 1-0 2 August 29 8:00pm @ Indiana ESPN2 67-75 Pondexter (24) McCarville (11) Mitchell, Pondexter (2) Conseco Fieldhouse 7,535 1-1 3 September 1 7:30pm Indiana NBATV MSG 77-74 Pondexter (30) McWilliams-Franklin (11) McWilliams-Franklin, Mitchell, Pondexter (4) Madison Square Garden 16,682 2-1
Eastern Conference Finals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 September 5 7:00pm Atlanta NBATV MSG 75-81 Pondexter (24) McWilliams-Franklin (11) Mitchell (6) Madison Square Garden 14,248 0-1 2 September 7 7:30pm @ Atlanta NBATV MSG FSSO 93-105 Pondexter (36) McWilliams-Franklin (6) Pondexter (9) Philips Arena 9,045 0-2

Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Nikki Blue	15	0	5.1	.286	.167	.714	0.4	0.9	0.27	0.00	1.2
Essence Carson	34	0	9.6	.407	.160	.688	1.6	0.7	0.41	0.24	3.7
Kalana Greene	33	0	15.7	.464	.333	.625	1.6	0.9	0.39	0.21	4.5
Tiffany Jackson	9	0	13.8	.370	.000	.760	3.1	0.4	0.7	0.1	4.3
Janel McCarville	34	34	28.4	.462	.273	.820	5.9	2.2	1.35	0.68	8.8
Taj McWilliams-Franklin	34	34	29.2	.511	.261	.826	5.4	2.0	1.38	0.88	10.6
Leilani Mitchell	34	34	28.8	.441	.486	.814	2.6	3.8	1.62	0.18	9.3
Plenette Pierson	25	0	16.7	.458	.250	.817	3.8	1.1	0.68	0.32	9.0
Cappie Pondexter	34	34	34.3	.483	.430	.892	4.5	4.9	0.88	0.12	21.4
Nicole Powell	34	34	26.3	.389	.395	.839	4.2	2.2	1.00	0.21	9.3
Sidney Spencer	20	0	8.4	.512	.533	.000	0.8	0.3	0.30	0.00	2.6
Kia Vaughn	30	0	8.1	.348	1.000	.650	1.4	0.3	0.20	0.20	2.1

Awards and honors

• Cappie Pondexter was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of June 5, 2010.
• Cappie Pondexter was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of July 17, 2010.
• Cappie Pondexter was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of July 24, 2010.
• Cappie Pondexter was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of August 7, 2010.
• Cappie Pondexter was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of August 14, 2010.
• Cappie Pondexter was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month for August.
• Cappie Pondexter was named to the 2010 WNBA All-Star Team as a Team USA starter.
• Kalana Greene was named to the All-Rookie Team .
• Cappie Pondexter was named to the All-Defensive First Team .
• Cappie Pondexter was named to the All-WNBA First Team .
• Leilani Mitchell was named the Most Improved Player . ^[1]

References

1. "Liberty's Leilani Mitchell Is WNBA's Most Improved". CBS News . August 26, 2010. Retrieved February 21, 2024.