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
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The 2011 WNBA season is 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.

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. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs F/C 45 Braxton, Kara 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 02-18-1983 Georgia G/F 17 Carson, Essence 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 07-28-1986 Rutgers G 50 Colson, Sydney 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 140 lb (64 kg) 08-06-1989 Texas A&M C 9 Hollingsworth, Quanitra 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 11-15-1988 VCU PG 5 Mitchell, Leilani 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) 128 lb (58 kg) 06-15-1985 Utah G/F 22 Montgomery, Alex 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 11-12-1988 Georgia Tech C 53 Phillips, Ta'Shia 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 01-24-1989 Xavier F/C 33 Pierson, Plenette 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 08-31-1981 Texas Tech G 23 Pondexter, Cappie 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 01-07-1983 Rutgers F 14 Powell, Nicole 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 06-22-1982 Stanford C 15 Vaughn, Kia 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) 01-24-1987 Rutgers	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 (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (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

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.
• Cappie Pondexter was named to the All-WNBA Second Team.