2004 New York Liberty season

2004 New York Liberty season
Head Coach Richie Adubato
Pat Coyle (interim)
Arena Madison Square Garden
Attendance 9,886 per game
Results
Record 18–16
(.529)
Place 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff Finish Lost Conference Finals (2-0) to Connecticut Sun
New York Liberty seasons
< 2003 2005 >

The 2004 WNBA season was the 8th season for the New York Liberty.

Dispersal Draft

Based on the Liberty's 2003 record, they would pick 4th in the Cleveland Rockers dispersal draft. The Liberty picked Ann Wauters.

WNBA Draft

Round Pick Player Nationality School/Club Team
1 5 Shameka Christon (G/F)  United States Arkansas
2 17 Amisha Carter (C)  United States Louisiana Tech
3 30 Cathy Joens (G)  United States George Washington


Regular season

Heading into its eighth WNBA season, the club acquired veteran Ann Wauters in the dispersal draft and Shameka Christon in the college draft. The Liberty opened the season with a 6-1 record. Despite the strong start, Pat Coyle replaced Richie Adubato as head coach. Under Coyle’s guidance, the team registered an 11-6 mark and secured their sixth playoff appearance.

There were injuries to starters Ann Wauters and Tari Phillips. The Liberty played to a sellout crowd for six games at the historic Radio City Music Hall.[1] At Radio City Music Hall, the Liberty posted a 5-1 record. The reason for the relocation was that Madison Square Garden was hosting the 2004 Republican National Convention. In addition, the Liberty hosted another unique game: The Game at Radio City, which featured the USA Women’s Olympic team vs. a WNBA Select Team.[1]

Season standings

Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
Connecticut Sun x 18 16 .529 – 10–7 8–9 14–6
New York Liberty x 18 16 .529 – 11–6 7–10 10–10
Detroit Shock x 17 17 .500 1.0 8–9 9–8 11–9
Washington Mystics x 17 17 .500 1.0 11–6 6–11 9–11
Charlotte Sting o 16 18 .471 2.0 10–7 6–11 8–12
Indiana Fever o 15 19 .441 3.0 10–7 5–12 8–12

Season Schedule

Date Opponent Score Result Record
May 21 @ Indiana 67-69 Loss 0-1
May 23 Houston 68-62 Win 1-1
May 26 Detroit 64-52 Win 2-1
May 30 @ Minnesota 68-64 Win 3-1
June 1 @ Charlotte 63-53 Win 4-1
June 3 @ Houston 71-62 Win 5-1
June 5 @ San Antonio 62-57 Win 6-1
June 11 Indiana 68-72 Loss 6-2
June 13 @ Washington 60-62 Loss 6-3
June 15 Seattle 62-86 Loss 6-4
June 19 @ Indiana 65-70 Loss 6-5
June 22 Los Angeles 49-65 Loss 6-6
June 24 @ Phoenix 60-72 Loss 6-7
June 26 @ Seattle 67-62 Win 7-7
June 29 @ Los Angeles 65-69 Loss 7-8
July 1 @ Sacramento 47-73 Loss 7-9
July 6 Sacramento 73-66 Win 8-9
July 8 Washington 54-71 Loss 8-10
July 11 Phoenix 77-69 Win 9-10
July 15 Minnesota 66-69 Loss 9-11
July 18 Charlotte 75-58 Win 10-11
July 20 @ Charlotte 80-74 Win 11-11
July 24 Detroit 78-69 Win 12-11
July 30 @ Detroit 79-88 Loss 12-12
July 31 Connecticut 80-66 Win 13-12
September 2 Charlotte 56-52 Win 14-12
September 3 @ Connecticut 43-61 Loss 14-13
September 9 @ Washington 59-71 Loss 14-14
September 10 Connecticut 66-77 Loss 14-15
September 12 San Antonio 64-62 Win 15-15
September 14 @ Detroit 71-82 Loss 15-16
September 16 Indiana 77-71 Win 16-16
September 17 @ Connecticut 69-66 Win 17-16
September 19 Washington 79-75 Win 18-16

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS
Becky Hammon 34 118 150 58 2 460
Elena Baranova 34 246 67 37 58 394
Crystal Robinson 28 83 58 24 8 339
Vickie Johnson 34 121 124 25 4 321
Shameka Christon 33 68 23 9 9 191
Bethany Donaphin 26 71 16 11 8 131
La'Keshia Frett 16 40 14 9 5 102
Tari Phillips 13 70 16 14 10 87
Ann Wauters 13 40 21 4 8 82
DeTrina White 31 118 9 8 10 82
Erin Thorn 17 8 8 4 1 34
K.B. Sharp 30 21 33 6 1 29

Playoffs

Game Date Opponent Score Result Record
Eastern Conference Semifinals
1 September 24 @ Detroit 75-62 Win 1-0
2 September 26 Detroit 66-76 Loss 1-1
3 September 28 Detroit 66-64 Win 2-1
Eastern Conference Finals
1 October 1 Connecticut 51-61 Loss 2-2
2 October 3 @ Connecticut 57-60 Loss 2-3

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 http://www.wnba.com/liberty/news/history.html