2011 New York Liberty season

2011 New York Liberty season
Coach	John Whisenant
Arena	Prudential Center
Attendance	7,702 per game
Results
Record	19–15 (.559)
Place	4th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost in Conference Semifinals
Team Leaders
Points	Pondexter (17.4)
Rebounds	Vaughn (6.7)
Assists	Pondexter (4.7)
Media
Television	MSG, MSG+ ESPN2, NBATV
← 2010 season 2012 season →

The 2011 WNBA season was the 15th season for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association. The Liberty played at Prudential Center in New Jersey from 2011 through 2013 during renovations at Madison Square Garden.

Transactions

WNBA draft

The following are the Liberty's selections in the 2011 WNBA draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/team/country
1	10	Alex Montgomery	United States	Georgia Tech
2	22	Angel Robinson	United States	Marquette
3	34	Mekia Valentine	United States	UC Santa Barbara

Transaction log

• March 14: The Liberty re-signed Sidney Spencer.
• April 6: The Liberty signed Ewelina Kobryn to a training camp contract.
• April 11: The Liberty traded draft rights to Angel Robinson and a second-round pick in the 2012 draft to the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for draft rights to Jessica Breland.
• April 11: The Liberty traded Kalana Greene to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for draft rights to Sydney Colson.
• May 16: The Liberty signed Whitney Boddie and Crystal Kelly to training camp contracts.
• May 27: The Liberty acquired Quanitra Hollingsworth from the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for the right to swap third-round picks in the 2012 draft.
• June 1: The Liberty waived Mekia Valentine, Whitney Boddie, Crystal Kelly, and Ewelina Kobryn.
• July 4: The Liberty waived Jessica Breland and signed Felicia Chester.
• July 21: The Liberty waived Felicia Chester.
• July 28: The Liberty signed Ta'Shia Phillips.
• August 4: The Liberty traded Sidney Spencer to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for Kara Braxton. ^[1]

Trades

Date	Trade
April 11, 2011	To New York Liberty	To Minnesota Lynx
	Jessica Breland	Angel Robinson and a second-round pick in 2012 draft
April 11, 2011	To New York Liberty	To Connecticut Sun
	Sydney Colson	Kalana Greene
May 27, 2011	To New York Liberty	To Minnesota Lynx
	Quanitra Hollingsworth	right to swap third-round picks in 2012 draft
August 4, 2011	To New York Liberty	To Phoenix Mercury
	Kara Braxton	Sidney Spencer

Personnel changes

Additions Player Signed Former team Alex Montgomery April 11, 2011 draft pick Sydney Colson April 11, 2011 draft pick (from Conn.) Jessica Breland April 11, 2011 draft pick (from Minn.) Quanitra Hollingsworth May 27, 2011 Minnesota Lynx Ta'Shia Phillips July 28, 2011 free agent Kara Braxton August 4, 2011 Phoenix Mercury

Subtractions Player Left New team Taj McWilliams-Franklin February 18, 2011 Minnesota Lynx Kalana Greene April 11, 2011 Connecticut Sun Nikki Blue May 15, 2011 free agent Janel McCarville June 1, 2011 hiatus Jessica Breland July 4, 2011 free agent Sidney Spencer August 4, 2011 Phoenix Mercury

Roster

2011 New York Liberty roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs F/C 45 Braxton, Kara 6' 6" (1.98m) 225 lb (102kg) 1983-02-18 Georgia 6 G/F 17 Carson, Essence 6' 0" (1.83m) 165 lb (75kg) 1986-07-28 Rutgers 3 G 50 Colson, Sydney 5' 8" (1.73m) 140 lb (64kg) 1989-08-06 Texas A&M R C 9 Hollingsworth, Quanitra 6' 5" (1.96m) 200 lb (91kg) 1988-11-15 VCU 2 PG 5 Mitchell, Leilani 5' 5" (1.65m) 128 lb (58kg) 1985-06-15 Utah 3 G/F 22 Montgomery, Alex 6' 1" (1.85m) 185 lb (84kg) 1988-11-12 Georgia Tech R C 53 Phillips, Ta'Shia 6' 6" (1.98m) 198 lb (90kg) 1989-01-24 Xavier R F/C 33 Pierson, Plenette 6' 2" (1.88m) 180 lb (82kg) 1981-08-31 Texas Tech 8 G 23 Pondexter, Cappie 5' 9" (1.75m) 160 lb (73kg) 1983-01-07 Rutgers 5 F 14 Powell, Nicole 6' 2" (1.88m) 170 lb (77kg) 1982-06-22 Stanford 7 C 15 Vaughn, Kia 6' 4" (1.93m) 198 lb (90kg) 1987-01-24 Rutgers 2	Head coach John Whisenant (New Mexico State) Assistant coaches Monique Ambers (Arizona State) Lady Grooms (Georgia) Athletic trainer Lisa White (Stony Brook) Strength and conditioning coach Kevin Duffy (Ohio) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth

Pos.	Starter	Bench
C	Kia Vaughn	Quanitra Hollingsworth
PF	Plenette Pierson	Kara Braxton Ta'Shia Phillips
SF	Nicole Powell	Alex Montgomery
SG	Cappie Pondexter	Essence Carson
PG	Leilani Mitchell	Sydney Colson

Season standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
Indiana Fever x	21	13	.618	–	13–4	8–9	13–9
Connecticut Sun x	21	13	.618	–	15–2	6–11	14–8
Atlanta Dream x	20	14	.588	1.0	11–6	9–8	14–8
New York Liberty x	19	15	.559	2.0	12-5	7–10	11–11
Chicago Sky o	14	20	.412	7.0	10–7	4–13	10–12
Washington Mystics o	6	28	.176	15.0	4–13	2–15	4–18

Schedule

Preseason

2011 Game Log: Preseason Game Date Time (ET) Opponent Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 May 25 10:30am Washington 57–60 Vaughn (10) Powell (5) Powell (4) Prudential Center 6,472 0–1 2 May 27 7:00pm China 79–65 N/A N/A N/A Times Union Center N/A 1–1

Regular season

2011 Game Log: Regular Season
June Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 1 June 5 3:00pm @ Atlanta SSO 94–88 (OT) Pierson (25) Pierson (10) Pondexter (11) Philips Arena 8,038 1–0 2 June 10 7:00pm @ Indiana 81–80 Pondexter (21) Vaughn (9) Powell (4) Conseco Fieldhouse 7,703 2–0 3 June 11 7:00pm Indiana MSG 80–86 Carson (23) Pierson (6) Powell (5) Prudential Center 7,835 2–1 4 June 14 7:00pm Atlanta 58–79 Carson (21) Carson (8) Powell (2) Prudential Center 5,725 2–2 5 June 17 8:30pm @ Chicago CN100 73–85 Pondexter (20) Pondexter (8) Carson (5) Allstate Arena 5,718 2–3 6 June 21 10:00pm @ Los Angeles ESPN2 91–96 Pondexter (22) Vaughn (12) Pondexter Powell (6) Staples Center 10,389 2–4 7 June 23 12:30pm @ Tulsa 94–82 Vaughn (24) Vaughn (12) Pondexter (10) BOK Center 4,682 3–4 8 June 26 4:00pm Los Angeles 77–67 Pondexter (22) Vaughn (8) Pondexter (5) Prudential Center 7,625 4–4 9 June 30 7:30pm @ Atlanta SSO 81–87 Pondexter (24) Pierson Vaughn (7) Pondexter (6) Philips Arena 4,423 4–5
July Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 10 July 1 7:00pm San Antonio NBATV 81–75 Pondexter (19) Hollingsworth Vaughn (7) Pondexter (5) Prudential Center 6,714 5–5 11 July 8 8:00pm @ San Antonio NBATV 76–73 Pondexter (20) Pierson (10) Pondexter (7) AT&T Center 8,100 6–5 12 July 10 4:00pm Chicago NBATV MSG+ CN100 80–73 Carson Pondexter (18) Powell (8) Pondexter Powell (4) Prudential Center 7,315 7–5 13 July 13 12:00pm Atlanta 91–69 Powell (20) Powell (7) Carson Mitchell Pondexter (5) Prudential Center 14,314 8–5 14 July 15 7:00pm Connecticut NBATV CSN-NE 59–68 Vaughn (15) Vaughn (9) Mitchell (4) Prudential Center 7,722 8–6 15 July 17 4:00pm Tulsa NBATV MSG+ 88–57 Pondexter (18) Vaughn (8) Mitchell Pondexter Powell (3) Prudential Center 6,735 9–6 16 July 19 7:30pm @ Connecticut 79–85 Pierson (18) Powell (11) Pondexter (10) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,096 9–7 All-Star break 17 July 28 7:00pm Washington MSG 75–71 Pondexter (19) Hollingsworth (7) Pierson Pondexter (4) Prudential Center 6,808 10–7 18 July 30 7:00pm Phoenix NBATV MSG+ 84–91 Powell (16) Vaughn (10) Vaughn (4) Prudential Center 7,214 10–8
August Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 19 August 2 7:30pm @ Atlanta FS-S 85–75 Pierson (20) Pierson (8) Mitchell (6) Philips Arena 4,573 11–8 20 August 4 12:00pm Chicago NBATV MSG 59–49 Pondexter (15) Powell (10) Carson Pondexter (3) Prudential Center 10,133 12–8 21 August 6 7:00pm @ Washington NBATV 81–91 Pondexter (21) Hollingsworth (7) Pondexter (7) Verizon Center 10,741 12–9 22 August 9 8:00pm Seattle ESPN2 58–56 Pondexter (19) Pierson (8) Pondexter (5) Prudential Center 6,732 13–9 23 August 12 7:00pm @ Washington 63–64 Mitchell (18) Hollingsworth (8) Mitchell (6) Verizon Center 10,092 13–10 24 August 13 7:00pm @ Indiana NBATV 71–82 Pondexter (30) Pondexter (8) Pondexter (5) Conseco Fieldhouse 9,237 13–11 25 August 16 7:00pm Washington 69–66 Pondexter (26) Vaughn (7) Powell (5) Prudential Center 6,223 14–11 26 August 18 7:00pm Connecticut NBATV MSG 84–81 (OT) Pondexter (27) Vaughn (11) Pondexter (4) Prudential Center 7,245 15–11 27 August 20 10:00pm @ Seattle 62–63 Pierson (15) Pondexter (6) Pondexter (6) KeyArena 7,139 15–12 28 August 23 10:00pm @ Phoenix ESPN2 74–70 Pondexter (25) Pondexter (8) Pierson (5) US Airways Center 8,871 16–12 29 August 28 6:00pm @ Chicago NBATV CN100 73–74 Pierson (19) Vaughn (8) Pondexter (8) Allstate Arena 5,707 16–13 30 August 30 7:00pm Chicago MSG+ CN100 71–67 Pondexter (19) Pierson (8) Pondexter Powell (3) Prudential Center 6,334 17–13
September Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Record 31 September 2 8:00pm @ Minnesota 78–62 Mitchell (24) Hollingsworth (9) Pondexter (7) Target Center 8,929 18–13 32 September 4 4:00pm Minnesota 68–86 Pierson (17) Pierson (8) Pondexter (7) Prudential Center 8,247 18–14 33 September 9 7:00pm Indiana NBATV MSG+ 83–75 Carson (18) Vaughn (9) Vaughn (5) Prudential Center 8,015 19–14 34 September 11 1:00pm @ Connecticut NBATV 63–69 Powell (14) Pondexter Vaughn (9) Pondexter (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 9,115 19–15
All games are viewable on WNBA LiveAccess or ESPN3.com

Postseason

2011 Game Log: Postseason
Eastern Conference Semifinals Game Date Time (ET) Opponent TV Score High points High rebounds High assists Location/Attendance Series 1 September 15 8:00pm @ Indiana ESPN2 72–74 Pondexter (18) Powell (8) Pondexter (6) Conseco Fieldhouse 7,608 0–1 2 September 17 4:00pm Indiana NBATV MSG 87-72 Powell (19) Pondexter Powell Vaughn (5) Pondexter (5) Prudential Center 8,508 1–1 3 September 19 8:00pm @ Indiana ESPN2 62-72 Powell (19) Vaughn (7) Pondexter (5) Conseco Fieldhouse 7,368 1–2

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
Kara Braxton	13	0	12.8	.397	.333	.400	3.0	0.8	0.38	0.46	3.9
Jessica Breland	9	0	7.7	.381	.000	1.000	1.6	0.4	0.20	0.70	2.0
Essence Carson	32	5	22.7	.437	.387	.738	2.8	1.7	1.19	0.63	11.3
Felicia Chester	4	0	6.8	.333	.000	.000	2.0	0.0	0.25	0.00	0.5
Sydney Colson	16	0	5.4	.350	.429	.833	0.4	0.6	0.25	0.13	1.4
Quanitra Hollingsworth	31	1	16.9	.524	.000	.679	4.4	0.3	0.52	0.32	4.6
Leilani Mitchell	34	30	25.4	.375	.364	.800	2.1	2.9	1.29	0.09	5.6
Alex Montgomery	30	0	9.0	.329	.444	.647	1.8	0.7	0.33	0.23	2.5
Ta'Shia Phillips	5	0	3.6	.500	.000	.500	0.6	0.2	0.00	0.00	0.6
Plenette Pierson	33	33	28.6	.478	.200	.806	5.2	1.4	1.15	0.91	12.9
Cappie Pondexter	34	34	33.9	.402	.345	.813	4.1	4.7	1.26	0.29	17.4
Nicole Powell	33	33	28.3	.410	.353	.906	4.2	2.3	1.36	0.30	9.7
Sidney Spencer	16	0	7.1	.500	.333	1.000	0.8	0.3	0.00	0.00	2.5
Kia Vaughn	34	34	28.1	.497	.000	.786	6.7	1.1	1.18	0.74	10.1

Postseason

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Kara Braxton
Essence Carson
Sydney Colson
Quanitra Hollingsworth
Leilani Mitchell
Alex Montgomery
Ta'Shia Phillips
Plenette Pierson
Cappie Pondexter
Nicole Powell
Kia Vaughn

Awards and honors

• Cappie Pondexter was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of June 20, 2011.
• Cappie Pondexter was named WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the week of July 4, 2011.
• Essence Carson was named to the 2011 WNBA All-Star Team as a reserve.
• Cappie Pondexter was named to the 2011 WNBA All-Star Team as a starter.
• Kia Vaughn was named the Most Improved Player . ^[2]
• Cappie Pondexter was named to the All-WNBA Second Team .

References

1. "Libery acquire Kara Braxton from Mercury". NJ.com . August 5, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
2. "Liberty's Kia Vaughn Receives Most Improved Award". CBS News . September 17, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2024.