2019 New York Liberty season

The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the New York Liberty franchise of the WNBA. The Liberty opened the regular season at home on May 24 versus the Indiana Fever.[1]

2019 New York Liberty season
CoachKatie Smith
ArenaWestchester County Center
Attendance2,239 per game
Results
Record10–24 (.294)
Place5th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Team Leaders
PointsTina Charles – 16.9 ppg
ReboundsTina Charles – 7.5 rpg
AssistsBrittany Boyd – 4.6 apg
Media
TelevisionYES

The Liberty started slowly, losing their first four games of the season. Winning five of their next eight games took them to a 5–7 record at the end of June. The team had plenty of reasons to be positive, as three of those five wins came against eventual playoff teams. The Liberty won their first two games in July to put together a four game win streak and reach a .500 record. However, they could not keep their momentum, losing three of their last four games in July. August proved a difficult month as the team only won one game. A seven game losing streak and a six game losing streak saw the team go into the final game with the Atlanta Dream with a 9–24 record. The Dream entered with 8–25 record, meaning if the Dream won, the teams would tie for the worst record in the WNBA. The Liberty won by seven points to end their season on a high note. Their ten wins is the second lowest in franchise history, with the only worse season being 2018 where they had only seven wins.

After the season, it was announced that head coach Katie Smith's contract would not be renewed.[2]

Transactions

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WNBA draft

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Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
1 2 Asia Durr   United States Louisville
2 14 Han Xu   China Xinjiang Magic Deer (China)
3 26 Megan Huff   United States Utah

Trades/Roster Changes

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Date Details
February 11, 2019 Re-signed G Rebecca Allen[3][4]
Re-signed C Amanda Zahui B[3][4]
Signed F Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe[3][4]
Signed G Kelly Faris to a Training Camp Contract.[3][4]
March 21, 2019 Signed G Marine Johannès[5]
March 28, 2019 Signed G Brittany Boyd[6]
April 11, 2019 Traded a second round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft to Minnesota for G Tanisha Wright.[7]

Roster

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2019 New York Liberty roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
G 9   Allen, Rebecca 6' 2" (1.88m) 162 lb (73kg) 11-06-1992 Australia 4
G 15   Boyd, Brittany 5' 9" (1.75m) 156 lb (71kg) 06-11-1993 California 4
C 31   Charles, Tina 6' 4" (1.93m) 192 lb (87kg) 12-05-1988 Connecticut 9
G 25   Durr, Asia 5' 10" (1.78m) 151 lb (68kg) 04-05-1997 Louisville R
F 12   Gray, Reshanda 6' 2" (1.88m) 192 lb (87kg) 06-01-1992 California 2
G 14   Hartley, Bria 5' 8" (1.73m) 148 lb (67kg) 09-30-1992 Connecticut 5
G 23   Johannès, Marine 5' 10" (1.78m) 134 lb (61kg) 01-25-1995 France R
G 5   Nurse, Kia 6' 0" (1.83m) 168 lb (76kg) 02-22-1996 Connecticut 1
F/C 4   Raincock-Ekunwe, Nayo 6' 2" (1.88m) 175 lb (79kg) 08-29-1991 Canada 1
G 30   Wright, Tanisha 5' 11" (1.8m) 166 lb (75kg) 11-29-1983 Penn State 13
C 21   Xu, Han 6' 9" (2.06m) 193 lb (88kg) 10-31-1999 China R
C 17   Zahui B., Amanda 6' 5" (1.96m) 250 lb (113kg) 09-08-1993 Minnesota 4
Head coach
  Katie Smith (Ohio State)
Assistant coaches
  Herb Williams (Ohio State)
Athletic trainer
  Theresa Acosta



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

Game log

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Pre-season

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2019 pre-season game log
May: 1–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
1 May 9 China W 89–71 Tied (19) Warley-Talbert (8) Boyd (4) Barclays Center
4,115
1–0
2 May 13 @ Connecticut Sun L 66–100 Charles (11) Charles (5) Wright (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
3,806
1–1
3 May 14 vs. Atlanta Dream L 87–92 Zahui B. (20) Zahui B. (8) Tied (4) Mohegan Sun Arena
3,458
1–2
4 May 19 vs. Connecticut Sun L 79–98 Nurse (25) Charles (6) 5 tied (2) Times Union Center 1–3
2019 pre-season schedule

Regular season

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2019 game log
Total: 10–24 (Home: 4–13; Road: 6–11)
May: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
1 May 24 Indiana Fever L 80–81 Charles (32) Charles (12) Hartley (4) Westchester County Center
1,965
0–1
June : 5–6 (Home: 3–3; Road: 2–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
2 June 1 @ Indiana Fever L 77–92 Charles (15) Gray (9) Boyd (6) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
5,003
0–2
3 June 4 Los Angeles Sparks L 73–78 Charles (21) Charles (14) Boyd (6) Westchester County Center
3,579
0–3
4 June 7 Washington Mystics L 85–94 Charles (27) Zahui B. (7) Tied (5) Westchester County Center
1,567
0–4
5 June 9 Las Vegas Aces W 88–78 Charles (21) Zahui B. (9) Hartley (6) Westchester County Center
1,447
1–4
6 June 12 Minnesota Lynx W 75–69 Nurse (26) Zahui B. (13) Boyd (7) Westchester County Center
1,181
2–4
7 June 14 @ Las Vegas Aces L 65–100 Nurse (12) Gray (5) Boyd (5) Mandalay Bay Events Center
4,110
2–5
8 June 15 @ Los Angeles Sparks W 98–92 Zahui B. (37) Charles (13) Boyd (12) Staples Center
11,388
3–5
9 June 19 Chicago Sky L 83–91 Durr (19) Zahui B. (10) Boyd (7) Westchester County Center
1,585
3–6
10 June 22 @ Minnesota Lynx L 83–92 Nurse (24) Charles (9) Boyd (8) Target Center
8,600
3–7
11 June 28 Dallas Wings W 69–68 Nurse (17) Gray (11) Boyd (7) Westchester County Center
2,191
4–7
12 June 30 @ Atlanta Dream W 74–58 Charles (24) Gray (15) 3 tied (4) State Farm Arena
4,359
5–7
July : 3–4 (Home: 1–1; Road: 2–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
13 July 3 @ Seattle Storm W 84–83 Charles (26) Gray (8) Boyd (10) Alaska Airlines Arena
8,710
6–7
14 July 5 @ Phoenix Mercury W 80–76 Nurse (26) Charles (12) Boyd (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena
9,560
7–7
15 July 7 Las Vegas Aces L 58–90 Charles (13) Charles (8) Wright (5) Westchester County Center
1,971
7–8
16 July 12 @ Chicago Sky L 83–99 Nurse (18) Gray (6) Tied (5) Wintrust Arena
7,221
7–9
17 July 14 @ Seattle Storm L 69–78 Nurse (19) Zahui B. (8) Hartley (5) Alaska Airlines Arena
6,733
7–10
18 July 20 Los Angeles Sparks W 83–78 Johannès (17) Gray (8) Boyd (6) Westchester County Center
2,195
8–10
19 July 24 @ Connecticut Sun L 63–70 Charles (13) Charles (11) Wright (5) Mohegan Sun Arena
8,249
8–11
August : 1–11 (Home: 0–6; Road: 1–5)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
20 August 1 @ Dallas Wings L 64–87 Nurse (13) Charles (5) Wright (4) College Park Center
4,011
8–12
21 August 4 Connecticut Sun L 79–94 Charles (20) Charles (10) Zahui B. (5) Westchester County Center
1,927
8–13
22 August 7 @ Chicago Sky L 92–101 Charles (24) Zahui B. (9) Tied (7) Wintrust Arena
5,797
8–14
23 August 11 Seattle Storm L 69–84 Charles (22) Charles (8) Wright (7) Barclays Center
7,715
8–15
24 August 13 Minnesota Lynx L 73–89 Allen (28) Charles (7) Boyd (7) Westchester County Center
1,570
8–16
25 August 16 @ Dallas Wings L 77–83 Charles (25) Wright (9) Wright (7) College Park Center
4,070
8–17
26 August 18 @ Phoenix Mercury L 72–78 Charles (23) Charles (13) Tied (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena
9,145
8–18
27 August 20 @ Indiana Fever W 82–76 Charles (23) Charles (14) Tied (4) Bankers Life Fieldhouse
5,340
9–18
28 August 23 Atlanta Dream L 87–90 Hartley (17) Charles (8) Wright (6) Westchester County Center
1,831
9–19
29 August 25 @ Washington Mystics L 72–101 Nurse (24) Tied (5) Wright (4) St. Elizabeth's East Arena
4,200
9–20
30 August 27 Phoenix Mercury L 82–95 Tied (18) Tied (5) Nurse (6) Westchester County Center
1,693
9–21
31 August 30 Connecticut Sun L 84–94 Johannès (21) Raincock-Ekunwe (7) Tied (6) Westchester County Center
1,791
9–22
September : 1–2 (Home: 0–2; Road: 1–0)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
32 September 3 Washington Mystics L 77–93 Johannès (22) Raincock-Ekunwe (5) Charles (5) Westchester County Center
1,558
9–23
33 September 6 Indiana Fever L 81–86 Charles (19) Charles (11) Tied (7) Westchester County Center
2,301
9–24
34 September 8 @ Atlanta Dream W 71–63 Charles (14) Zahui B. (11) Charles (5) State Farm Arena
5,495
10–24
2019 season schedule

Standings

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The Liberty in action at Dallas
# Eastern Conference W L PCT GB Home Road Conf.
1 Washington Mystics (1) 26 8 .765 14–3 12–5 13–3
2 Connecticut Sun (2) 23 11 .676 3 15–2 8–9 11–5
3 Chicago Sky (5) 20 14 .588 6 12–5 8–9 11–5
4 e –Indiana Fever 13 21 .382 13 7–10 6–11 7–9
5 e –New York Liberty 10 24 .294 16 4–13 6–11 3–13
6 e –Atlanta Dream 8 26 .235 18 5–12 3–14 3–13

Statistics

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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

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Tina Charles 33 33 31.2 38.9 18.6 81.2 7.5 2.4 0.7 0.9 16.9
Kia Nurse 34 34 29.4 39.3 35.3 87.2 2.5 2.3 0.7 0.1 13.7
Bria Hartley 24 18 22.7 37.6 32.9 80.3 3.2 3.2 0.8 0 9.8
Asia Durr 18 15 26.7 46.7 29.4 81.8 1.6 1.7 0.6 0.4 9.7
Amanda Zahui B. 24 23 23.3 46.8 31.9 85.2 6.3 0.9 1.1 1.4 8.6
Rebecca Allen 24 2 17.2 41.7 42.6 81.3 2.5 0.7 0.5 0.8 7.2
Marine Johannès 19 0 18.2 43.6 37.9 78.9 1.8 2.4 0.4 0.2 7.2
Brittany Boyd 33 17 19.7 39.4 30.4 76.5 3.7 4.6 1.4 0.1 5.3
Reshanda Gray 34 10 15.3 47.3 50.0 56.5 5.2 0.5 0.5 0.2 5.2
Tanisha Wright 31 17 19.8 41.5 36.8 80.6 2.8 4.1 1.0 0.3 4.7
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe 28 1 13.1 54.4 33.3 64.0 2.8 0.4 0.3 0.1 3.7
Han Xu 18 0 7.9 41.4 50.0 50.0 0.8 0.1 0.2 0.2 3.0

Awards and honors

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Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Tina Charles WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week July 8, 2019 [8]
Kia Nurse WNBA All-Star Selection July 15, 2019 [9]
Tina Charles

References

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  1. ^ "2019 New York Liberty Schedule". Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  2. ^ "New York Liberty Announce Head Coach Katie Smith's Contract Not Renewed". wnba.com. WNBA. October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d "New York Liberty Announce Player Signings". liberty.wnba.com. WNBA. February 11, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d Rose, Mike (February 11, 2019). "Liberty bringing back Rebecca Allen, Amanda Zahui B with multi-year deals". newsday.com. Retrieved February 18, 2019.
  5. ^ "New York Liberty Sign Marine Johannès". liberty.wnba.com. WNBA. March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  6. ^ Doss, Kim (March 28, 2019). "Brittany Boyd re-signs with the New York Liberty". highposthoops.com. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "Liberty Acquires Guard Tanisha Wright in Exchange for 2020 Second Round Pick". liberty.wnba.com. WNBA. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  8. ^ "Tina Charles, Brittney Griner Earn Players Of The Week". wnba.com. WNBA. July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  9. ^ "Seven-Time Selection Charles, Dupree, Highlight Reserves For All-Star". wnba.com. WNBA. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
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