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]
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]
Trades/Roster Changes
edit
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
2019 game log Total: 10–24 (Home: 4–13; Road: 6–11)
May: 0–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–0)
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)
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)
2019 season schedule
The Liberty in action at Dallas
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
^ "2019 New York Liberty Schedule" . Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved February 18, 2019 .
^ "New York Liberty Announce Head Coach Katie Smith's Contract Not Renewed" . wnba.com . WNBA. October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019 .
^ a b c d "New York Liberty Announce Player Signings" . liberty.wnba.com . WNBA. February 11, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2019 .
^ 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 .
^ "New York Liberty Sign Marine Johannès" . liberty.wnba.com . WNBA. March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019 .
^ Doss, Kim (March 28, 2019). "Brittany Boyd re-signs with the New York Liberty" . highposthoops.com . Retrieved April 16, 2019 .
^ "Liberty Acquires Guard Tanisha Wright in Exchange for 2020 Second Round Pick" . liberty.wnba.com . WNBA. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 15, 2019 .
^ "Tina Charles, Brittney Griner Earn Players Of The Week" . wnba.com . WNBA. July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019 .
^ "Seven-Time Selection Charles, Dupree, Highlight Reserves For All-Star" . wnba.com . WNBA. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019 .