2004 New York Liberty season explained

The 2004 WNBA season was the eighth 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

RoundPickPlayerNationality School/Club Team
1 5 Shameka Christon (G/F) Arkansas
2 17 Amisha Carter (C) Louisiana Tech
3 30 Cathy Joens (G) 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 Schedule

DateOpponentScoreResultRecord
May 21@ Indiana67-69Loss0-1
May 23Houston68-62Win1-1
May 26Detroit64-52Win2-1
May 30@ Minnesota68-64Win3-1
June 1@ Charlotte63-53Win4-1
June 3@ Houston71-62Win5-1
June 5@ San Antonio62-57Win6-1
June 11Indiana68-72Loss6-2
June 13@ Washington60-62Loss6-3
June 15Seattle62-86Loss6-4
June 19@ Indiana65-70Loss6-5
June 22Los Angeles49-65Loss6-6
June 24@ Phoenix60-72Loss6-7
June 26@ Seattle67-62Win7-7
June 29@ Los Angeles65-69Loss7-8
July 1@ Sacramento47-73Loss7-9
July 6Sacramento73-66Win8-9
July 8Washington54-71Loss8-10
July 11Phoenix77-69Win9-10
July 15Minnesota66-69Loss9-11
July 18Charlotte75-58Win10-11
July 20@ Charlotte80-74Win11-11
July 24Detroit78-69Win12-11
July 30@ Detroit79-88Loss12-12
July 31Connecticut80-66Win13-12
September 2Charlotte56-52Win14-12
September 3@ Connecticut43-61Loss14-13
September 9@ Washington59-71Loss14-14
September 10Connecticut66-77Loss14-15
September 12San Antonio64-62Win15-15
September 14@ Detroit71-82Loss15-16
September 16Indiana77-71Win16-16
September 17@ Connecticut69-66Win17-16
September 19Washington79-75Win18-16

Player stats

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

PlayerGPREBASTSTLBLKPTS
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 75-62 Win 1-0
2 September 26 66-76 Loss 1-1
3 September 28 66-64 Win 2-1
Eastern Conference Finals
1 October 1 51-61 Loss 2-2
2 October 3 57-60 Loss 2-3

Notes and References

  1. Web site: News Archive.