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Liberty Beat Monarchs To Move Into First

Associated Press

WNBA

Sophia Witherspoon had 13 of her game-high 21 points in the first half as the New York Liberty snapped a three-game losing streak with a 79-63 victory over the visiting Sacramento Monarchs Friday night.

The game was witnessed by a crowd of 15,855 - the fourth-largest of the season at Madison Square Garden.

The victory moved New York (15-8) into a first-place tie in the Eastern Conference with the Houston Comets, who will visit the Garden on Sunday.

Teresa Weatherspoon added 19 points for the Liberty, who trailed 36-35 at halftime.

Pam McGee had 17 points for the Monarchs (9-16), who lost both games on a two-game Eastern swing.

The Liberty, behind Weatherspoon’s 10 points, outscored the visitors 26-8 during one stretch of the second half to turn the game into a rout, 61-44.

The closest the Monarchs got after that was 72-60 on a 3-pointer by Bolton-Holifield with 1:36 to play.

Liberty 79, Monarchs 63 New York

Sacramento (63) - Gordon 5-7 2-2 12, Byears 4-11 1-1 9, McGee 6-11 4-7 17, Tremitiere 2-7 2-2 6, Bolton-Holifield 5-12 1-2 13, Abraham 2-4 0-0 4, Yasen 0-2 0-0 0, Viglione 1-4 0-0 2, Savasta 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 25-58 10-14 63.

New York (79) - Lobo 2-4 2-4 6, Johnson 5-12 0-0 10, Hampton 3-7 0-0 6, Weatherspoon 5-7 8-8 19, Witherspoon 7-10 4-4 21, Wicks 1-5 1-2 3, Ford 2-2 0-0 4, Blades 1-2 6-10 8, Trice 0-0 0-0 0, Crumpton-Moorer 1-3 0-0 2, Totals 27-52 21-28 79.

Halftime-Sacramento 36, New York 35. 3-Point goals- Sacramento 3-14 (Bolton-Holifield 2-6, McGee 1-2, Byears 0-2, Tremitiere 0-2, Viglione 0-2), New York 4-12 (Witherspoon 3-5, Weatherspoon 1-2, Lobo 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Wicks 0-1, Blades 0-1, Crumpton-Moorer 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Sacramento 33 (Byears 8), New York 36 (Hampton 8). Assists-Sacramento 15 (Gordon 5), New York 21 (Weatherspoon 8). Total fouls-Sacramento 21, New York 15. A-15,855.

Big crowd expected

The WNBA is aiming for the largest crowd in the history of women’s pro basketball with a sellout crowd at 24,042-seat Charlotte Coliseum today when the Charlotte Sting play the Houston Comets.