2018 New York Liberty season

2018 New York Liberty season
CoachKatie Smith
ArenaWestchester County Center
Attendance2,823 per game
Results
Record7–27 (.206)
Place5th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Team Leaders
PointsTina Charles - 19.7 ppg
ReboundsTina Charles - 7.0 rpg
AssistsBrittany Boyd - 5.3 apg
Media
TelevisionMSG Network (MSG), MSG Plus (MSG+)

The 2018 WNBA season is the 22nd season for the New York Liberty franchise of the WNBA. The season tips off on May 20.[1] During the off-season the Liberty hired Katie Smith as head coach. Smith replaced Bill Laimbeer, who left to coach the Las Vegas Aces.[2] It was also announced in the offseason that the team would play its home games at the Westchester County Center.[3]

The 2018 season ended up being a difficult one for the Liberty. After having achieved a 22-win season in 2017, the team could only muster 7 wins in 2018. The team started 1–2 in May, but quickly fell behind the playoff pace going 3–9 in June. Things did not improve in July when the team went 3–7. The team finished the season on a thirteen-game losing streak, including an 0–9 August to finish the season 7–27. This was the franchise's worst record in its history. The previous worst was 11–23 in 2013.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2018 WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 10 Kia Nurse  Canada Connecticut
2 22 Mercedes Russell  United States Tennessee
3 34 Leslie Robinson  United States Princeton

Trades/Roster Changes

Date Details
February 9, 2018 Re-Signed G Bria Hartley[4]
February 9, 2018 Re-Signed C Kia Vaughn[4]
February 9, 2018 Re-Signed F Rebecca Allen[4]
February 9, 2018 Re-Signed G Lindsay Allen[4]
May 1, 2018 Signed G Marissa Coleman[5]

Roster

2018 New York Liberty roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
G/F 9 Australia Allen, Rebecca 6' 2" (1.88m) 162 lb (73kg) 11-06-1992 Australia 3
G 15 United States Boyd, Brittany 5' 9" (1.75m) 156 lb (71kg) 06-11-1993 California 3
F/C 31 United States Charles, Tina 6' 4" (1.93m) 192 lb (87kg) 12-05-1988 Connecticut 8
G/F 0 United States Coleman, Marissa 6' 1" (1.85m) 160 lb (73kg) 01-04-1987 Maryland 9
G 8 United States Hartley, Bria 5' 8" (1.73m) 148 lb (67kg) 09-30-1992 Connecticut 4
G 5 Canada Nurse, Kia 6' 0" (1.83m) – 02-22-1996 Connecticut R
G 10 Russia Prince, Epiphanny 5' 9" (1.75m) 179 lb (81kg) 01-11-1988 Rutgers 8
G 14 United States Rodgers, Sugar 5' 9" (1.75m) 161 lb (73kg) 12-08-1989 Georgetown 5
C 41 United States Stokes, Kiah 6' 3" (1.91m) 191 lb (87kg) 03-30-1993 Connecticut 3
C 7 United States Vaughn, Kia 6' 4" (1.93m) 205 lb (93kg) 01-24-1987 Rutgers 9
C 17 Sweden Zahui B., Amanda 6' 5" (1.96m) 250 lb (113kg) 09-08-1993 Minnesota 3
G 1 United States Zellous, Shavonte 5' 10" (1.78m) 188 lb (85kg) 08-28-1986 Pittsburgh 9
Head coach
United States Katie Smith (Ohio State)
Assistant coaches
United States Herb Williams (Ohio State)
United States Barbara Farris (Tulane)
Athletic trainer
United States Chantal Hart


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Game log

Pre-season

2018 pre-season game log
May: 1–1 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 7 vs. Dallas L 69–76 Coleman (14) Tied (4) Zellous (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
 0–1
2 May 8 vs. Los Angeles W 81–75 Nurse (19) Gray (14) 4 Tied (3) Mohegan Sun Arena
1,106 		1–1
2018 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2018 game log
Total: 7–27 (Home: 4–13; Road: 3–14)
May: 1–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 20 @ Chicago L 76–80 Charles (19) Zahui B. (7) Hartley (6) Wintrust Arena
7,922 		0–1
2 May 25 Minnesota L 72–78 Charles (18) Charles (12) Hartley (3) Westchester County Center
2,315 		0–2
3 May 29 Dallas W 94–89 Charles (34) Charles (10) Zellous (9) Westchester County Center
1,516 		1–2
June : 3–9 (Home: 2–5; Road: 1–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
4 June 2 @ Indiana W 87–81 Nurse (34) Stokes (12) Tied (4) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
5,575 		2–2
5 June 5 Phoenix L 74–80 Charles (25) Tied (8) Hartley (5) Madison Square Garden
7,215 		2–3
6 June 7 Connecticut L 86–88 Charles (24) Charles (9) Zellous (7) Westchester County Center
1,581 		2–4
7 June 10 Indiana W 78–75 Rodgers (16) Tied (4) 4 Tied (3) Westchester County Center
1,537 		3–4
8 June 13 Las Vegas L 63–78 Charles (19) Coleman (5) Coleman (5) Westchester County Center
1,419 		3–5
9 June 16 @ Minnesota L 71–85 Charles (12) Tied (4) Hartley (6) Target Center
9,114 		3–6
10 June 19 Atlanta W 79–72 Charles (29) Vaughn (9) Boyd (11) Westchester County Center
1,627 		4–6
11 June 22 @ Las Vegas L 78–88 Tied (14) Charles (8) 3 Tied (5) Mandalay Bay Events Center
5,478 		4–7
12 June 24 @ Los Angeles 54–80 Zahui B (21) Boyd (6) Boyd (8) Staples Center
9,203 		4–8
13 June 26 Phoenix L 69–83 Charles (12) Charles (8) Boyd (7) Westchester County Center
1,839 		4–9
14 June 28 @ Washington L 77–80 Prince (21) Charles (7) Charles (6) Capital One Arena
4,473 		4–10
15 June 29 Chicago L 99–103 Charles (24) Stokes (5) Prince (5) Westchester County Center
1,837 		4–11
July : 3–7 (Home: 1–3; Road: 2–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
16 July 1 @ Chicago W 97–94 (OT) Charles (28) Vaughn (11) Boyd (5) Wintrust Arena
5,382 		5–11
17 July 3 Seattle L 62–77 Hartley (16) Zellous (7) 3 Tied (4) Westchester County Center
1,749 		5–12
18 July 5 @ Washington L 67–86 Charles (26) Charles (12) Hartley (7) Capital One Arena
4,674 		5–13
19 July 8 Dallas L 87–97 Charles (26) Charles (9) Boyd (5) Westchester County Center
1,719 		5–14
20 July 11 @ Connecticut W 79–76 Charles (19) Charles (11) Boyd (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
7,413 		6–14
21 July 15 Chicago W 107–84 Charles (21) Vaughn (7) Boyd (10) Westchester County Center
2,073 		7–14
22 July 17 @ Dallas L 87–104 Nurse (25) Charles (6) Tied (4) College Park Center
6,459 		7–15
23 July 19 @ Atlanta L 68–82 Charles (11) Boyd (7) Boyd (10) McCamish Pavilion
3,074 		7–16
24 July 21 Washington L 78–95 Charles (22) Charles (5) Hartley (6) Westchester County Center
2,005 		7–17
25 July 24 @ Minnesota L 82–85 Charles (32) Charles (15) Boyd (9) Target Center
9,830 		7–18
August : 0–9 (Home: 0–4; Road: 0–5)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
26 August 1 @ Connecticut L 77–92 Rodgers (16) Vaughn (7) Boyd (8) Mohegan Sun Arena
6,412 		7–19
27 August 4 Indiana L 55–68 Charles (11) Charles (10) Charles (4) Westchester County Center
2,225 		7–20
28 August 6 Seattle L 80–96 Tied (20) Zahui B. (11) Boyd (7) Madison Square Garden
12,488 		7–21
29 August 8 Los Angeles L 81–82 Charles (27) Stokes (11) Boyd (7) Westchester County Center
2,481 		7–22
30 August 12 Atlanta L 77–86 Charles (26) Stokes (10) Charles (5) Westchester County Center
2,362 		7–23
21 August 14 @ Los Angeles L 66–74 Charles (21) Vaughn (8) Tied (4) Staples Center
11,067 		7–24
32 August 15 @ Las Vegas L 72–85 Tied (14) Stokes (11) Boyd (6) Mandalay Bay Events Center
7,159 		7–25
33 August 17 @ Seattle L 77–85 Charles (21) Stokes (15) Boyd (5) KeyArena
10,873 		7–26
34 August 19 @ Phoenix L 85–96 Nurse (28) Stokes (9) Boyd (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena
13,106 		7–27
2018 season schedule

Standings

# Eastern Conference
W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
1 Atlanta Dream (2) 23 11 .676 – 13–4 10–7 12–4
2 Washington Mystics (3) 22 12 .647 1 12–5 10–7 12–4
3 Connecticut Sun (4) 21 13 .618 2 13–4 8–9 9–7
4 e – Chicago Sky 13 21 .382 10 7–10 6–11 6–10
5 e – New York Liberty 7 27 .206 16 4–13 3–14 6–10
6 e – Indiana Fever 6 28 .176 17 2–15 4–13 3–13

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
Tina Charles 33 33 33.0 47.3 32.6 77.0 7.0 2.7 0.7 0.6 19.7
Kia Nurse 34 7 22.8 40.2 29.4 87.0 2.4 1.6 0.7 0.1 9.1
Bria Hartley 34 20 23.7 38.9 30.8 70.8 2.9 3.6 0.9 0.1 8.5
Epiphanny Prince 16 12 19.1 39.3 41.9 87.5 1.6 1.7 0.9 0.0 8.4
Shavonte Zellous 22 22 24.1 42.3 26.7 75.4 3.1 3.0 0.6 0.2 8.2
Amanda Zahui B. 29 0 15.9 50.0 34.4 60.5 3.0 0.7 0.4 0.4 7.7
Brittany Boyd 30 14 19.6 41.4 37.0 77.4 3.9 5.3 1.2 0.1 6.4
Sugar Rodgers 31 13 19.6 36.2 32.3 82.6 3.2 2.0 0.7 0.1 6.3
Kia Vaughn 29 27 18.3 53.3 0.0 64.3 4.0 0.7 0.7 0.2 5.7
Marissa Coleman 21 18 18.3 34.8 27.9 100 2.4 1.0 0.5 0.2 4.7
Rebecca Allen 28 0 10.4 37.6 26.3 84.0 1.7 0.3 0.3 0.4 3.8
Kiah Stokes 30 4 14.2 54.5 0.0 53.3 4.5 0.4 0.4 0.6 3.1

Awards and honors

Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Tina Charles WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week June 4, 2018 [6]
WNBA All-Star Selection July 17, 2018 [7]

References

  1. ^ "2018 New York Liberty Schedule". Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  2. ^ "Katie Smith Named New York Liberty Head Coach". New York Liberty. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  3. ^ "MSG to Operate Liberty While Continuing to Pursue Sale, Westchester County Center to Serve as Team's Primary Home for 2018". New York Liberty. February 8, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d "Liberty Re-Signs Kia Vaughn and Bria Hartley". liberty.wnba.com. February 9, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  5. ^ "New York Liberty Sign Nine-Year Veteran Marissa Coleman". liberty.wnba.com. May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  6. ^ "Tina Charles, Liz Cambage Named Players of the Week". wnba.com. WNBA. June 4, 2018. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
  7. ^ "2018 WNBA All-Stars Announced; Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker To Serve As Player-Captains". wnba.com. WNBA. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.