2001 New York Liberty season

2001 New York Liberty season
2001 New York Liberty season
Head coach	Richie Adubato
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Results
Record	21–11 (.656)
Place	2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost Conference Finals (2-1) to Charlotte Sting
Media
Television	WPIX (WB 11); Fox Sports Net New York; MSG Network; MetroTV
	← 2000 2002 →

The 2001 WNBA season was the fifth season for the New York Liberty. The team attempted to reach the WNBA Finals, but they failed in the conference finals, losing in three games to the Charlotte Sting.

Transactions

WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
4	57	Taru Tuukkanen	Finland	Xavier
4	60	Tara Mitchem	United States	Southwest Missouri State

Transactions

Date	Transaction
April 17, 2001	Traded a 2001 2nd Round Pick and a 2001 3rd Round Pick to the Washington Mystics in exchange for Andrea Nagy and a 2001 4th Round Pick^[1]
April 20, 2001	Drafted Taru Tuukkanen and Tara Mitchem in the 2001 WNBA draft^[1]
April 30, 2001	Signed Hadjana Radunović and Stacey Ford^[1]
May 3, 2001	Signed Katie Cronin^[1]
May 7, 2001	Waived Shea Mahoney and Taru Tuukkanen^[1]
May 10, 2001	Waived Jessica Bibby^[1]
May 14, 2001	Waived Desiree Francis and Olga Firsova^[1]
May 16, 2001	Waived Tara Mitchem^[1]
May 25, 2001	Waived Katie Cronin^[1]
May 26, 2001	Waived Marina Ferragut^[1]
June 5, 2001	Traded a 2002 2nd Round Pick to the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for Camille Cooper^[1]
June 5, 2001	Waived Stacey Ford^[1]
July 9, 2001	Signed Mactabene Amachree^[1]

Roster

2001 New York Liberty roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From	Yrs
F	13	Amachree, Mactabene	6' 1" (1.85m)	175 lb (79kg)	1978-01-30		R
C	42	Cooper, Camille	6' 4" (1.93m)		1979-02-05	Purdue	R
G	5	Daley, Grace	5' 8" (1.73m)	147 lb (67kg)	1978-06-26	Tulane	1
F	20	Ford, Stacey	6' 2" (1.88m)		1969-01-14	Georgia	R
G	25	Hammon, Becky	5' 6" (1.68m)	136 lb (62kg)	1977-03-11	Colorado State	2
G/F	55	Johnson, Vickie	5' 9" (1.75m)	150 lb (68kg)	1972-04-15	Louisiana Tech	4
G	10	Lazić, Katarina	5' 10" (1.78m)	147 lb (67kg)	1980-05-25		R
C	50	Lobo, Rebecca	6' 4" (1.93m)	185 lb (84kg)	1973-10-06	Connecticut	3
G	16	Nagy, Andrea	5' 7" (1.7m)	147 lb (67kg)	1971-11-16	FIU	2
F/C	24	Phillips, Tari	6' 2" (1.88m)	200 lb (91kg)	1970-03-06	Central Florida	2
C	7	Radunović, Hajdana	6' 3" (1.91m)	187 lb (85kg)	1978-01-10		R
F	3	Robinson, Crystal	5' 11" (1.8m)	155 lb (70kg)	1974-01-22	SE Oklahoma State	2
G	11	Weatherspoon, Teresa	5' 8" (1.73m)	161 lb (73kg)	1965-12-08	Louisiana Tech	4
F	44	Whitmore, Tamika	6' 2" (1.88m)	215 lb (98kg)	1977-06-05	Memphis	2
F	23	Wicks, Sue	6' 3" (1.91m)	174 lb (79kg)	1966-11-26	Rutgers	4

Head coach: Richie Adubato (William Paterson)
Assistant coaches: Lisa White; Jeff House; Pat Coyle

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Schedule

Regular season

2001 game log
Total: 21–11 (Home: 13–3; Road: 8–8)

May: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	May 31	@ Miami	L 59–68	Vickie Johnson (20)	Sue Wicks (9)	Teresa Weatherspoon (7)	American Airlines Arena	0–1

June : 9–3 (Home: 5–1; Road: 4–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
2	June 2	Indiana	W 75–58	Tari Phillips (21)	Tari Phillips (12)	Teresa Weatherspoon (6)	Madison Square Garden	1–1
3	June 4	Sacramento	L 63–80	Tari Phillips (19)	Tari Phillips (7)	Teresa Weatherspoon (5)	Madison Square Garden	1–2
4	June 7	@ Cleveland	L 49–67	Tari Phillips (16)	Tari Phillips (8)	Teresa Weatherspoon (8)	Gund Arena	1–3
5	June 10	@ Washington	W 81–80	Teresa Weatherspoon (16)	Tari Phillips (13)	Crystal Robinson (5)	MCI Center	2–3
6	June 12	Charlotte	W 79–70	Tari Phillips (27)	Tari Phillips (5)	Teresa Weatherspoon (7)	Madison Square Garden	3–3
7	June 16	Washington	W 86–63	Crystal Robinson (16)	Tari Phillips (10)	Teresa Weatherspoon (7)	Madison Square Garden	4–3
8	June 17	@ Miami	W 55–48	Crystal Robinson (13)	Tari Phillips (12)	Nagy Robinson Weatherspoon (2)	American Airlines Arena	5–3
9	June 19	@ Sacramento	W 55–51	Tamika Whitmore (23)	Vickie Johnson (11)	Teresa Weatherspoon (5)	ARCO Arena	6–3
10	June 21	@ Phoenix	W 95–70	Tari Phillips (23)	Lobo Phillips Robinson (5)	Teresa Weatherspoon (9)	America West Arena	7–3
11	June 24	Los Angeles	W 82–69	Becky Hammon (21)	Teresa Weatherspoon (7)	Teresa Weatherspoon (8)	Madison Square Garden	8–3
12	June 25	@ Orlando	L 54–67	Vickie Johnson (23)	Phillips Wicks (6)	Teresa Weatherspoon (6)	TD Waterhouse Centre	8–4
13	June 30	Orlando	W 72–60	Tari Phillips (16)	Tari Phillips (13)	Teresa Weatherspoon (9)	Madison Square Garden	9–4

July : 8–5 (Home: 4–1; Road: 4–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
14	July 2	Detroit	W 66–60	Tari Phillips (16)	Johnson Phillips (9)	Johnson Weatherspoon (3)	Madison Square Garden	10–4
15	July 3	@ Charlotte	L 61–66	Vickie Johnson (16)	Tari Phillips (12)	Teresa Weatherspoon (5)	Charlotte Coliseum	10–5
16	July 6	@ Minnesota	W 70–57	Tari Phillips (20)	Tari Phillips (6)	Teresa Weatherspoon (7)	Target Center	11–5
17	July 8	@ Indiana	W 58–56	Tari Phillips (24)	Tari Phillips (13)	Teresa Weatherspoon (9)	Conseco Fieldhouse	12–5
18	July 9	Indiana	W 72–65	Tari Phillips (20)	Tari Phillips (14)	Hammon Weatherspoon (6)	Madison Square Garden	13–5
19	July 11	Seattle	W 67–53	Becky Hammon (16)	Teresa Weatherspoon (10)	Hammon Johnson Weatherspoon (4)	Madison Square Garden	14–5
20	July 13	Minnesota	W 67–64	Teresa Weatherspoon (14)	Phillips Weatherspoon (5)	Teresa Weatherspoon (6)	Madison Square Garden	15–5
21	July 18	@ Detroit	W 80–67	Tari Phillips (20)	Tari Phillips (7)	Teresa Weatherspoon (7)	The Palace of Auburn Hills	16–5
22	July 19	@ Cleveland	L 60–65	Crystal Robinson (16)	Sue Wicks (9)	Teresa Weatherspoon (7)	Gund Arena	16–6
23	July 22	Miami	L 52–68	Crystal Robinson (15)	Weatherspoon Whitmore (5)	Vickie Johnson (6)	Madison Square Garden	16–7
24	July 24	@ Portland	L 68–86	Phillips Robinson (18)	Tari Phillips (14)	Teresa Weatherspoon (5)	Rose Garden	16–8
25	July 26	@ Utah	L 63–71	Vickie Johnson (19)	Vickie Johnson (7)	Teresa Weatherspoon (8)	Delta Center	16–9
26	July 28	@ Houston	W 64–61	Crystal Robinson (15)	Sue Wicks (8)	Teresa Weatherspoon (7)	Compaq Center	17–9

August : 4–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 0–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
27	August 1	Detroit	W 66–63	Johnson Phillips (17)	Tari Phillips (10)	Teresa Weatherspoon (10)	Madison Square Garden	18–9
28	August 4	Cleveland	L 43–58	Tari Phillips (14)	Phillips Whitmore (6)	Robinson Weatherspoon (4)	Madison Square Garden	18–10
29	August 8	Utah	W 82–63	Vickie Johnson (18)	Phillips Whitmore (7)	Teresa Weatherspoon (9)	Madison Square Garden	19–10
30	August 10	Orlando	W 77–67	Vickie Johnson (17)	Tari Phillips (10)	Teresa Weatherspoon (7)	Madison Square Garden	20–10
31	August 11	@ Charlotte	L 60–80	Tari Phillips (15)	Tari Phillips (6)	Johnson Robinson Weatherspoon (4)	Charlotte Coliseum	20–11
32	August 14	Washington	W 71–56	Crystal Robinson (15)	Tari Phillips (7)	Teresa Weatherspoon (8)	Madison Square Garden	21–11

2001 season schedule

Playoffs

2001 playoff game log

First round vs. Miami Sol
Won Series: 2–0

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	August 17	@ Miami	W 62–46	Vickie Johnson (18)	Tari Phillips (13)	Teresa Weatherspoon (7)	American Airlines Arena	1–0
2	August 19	Miami	L 50–53	Crystal Robinson (13)	Tari Phillips (15)	Vickie Johnson (5)	Madison Square Garden	1–1
3	August 21	Miami	W 72–61	Vickie Johnson (22)	Vickie Johnson (7)	Vickie Johnson (6)	Madison Square Garden	2–1

Conference Finals vs. Charlotte Sting
Lost Series: 1–2

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	August 24	@ Charlotte	W 61–57	Tari Phillips (14)	Tari Phillips (6)	Vickie Johnson (7)	Charlotte Coliseum	1–0
2	August 26	Charlotte	L 53–62	Vickie Johnson (16)	Tari Phillips (7)	Teresa Weatherspoon (6)	Madison Square Garden	1–1
3	August 27	Charlotte	L 44–48	Vickie Johnson (13)	Crystal Robinson (6)	Teresa Weatherspoon (4)	Madison Square Garden	1–2

2001 playoff schedule

Season standings

Eastern Conference	W	L	PCT	Conf.	GB
Cleveland Rockers ^x	22	10	.688	15–6	–
New York Liberty ^x	21	11	.656	13–8	1.0
Miami Sol ^x	20	12	.625	14–7	2.0
Charlotte Sting ^x	18	14	.563	15–6	4.0
Orlando Miracle ^o	13	19	.406	9–12	9.0
Indiana Fever ^o	10	22	.313	7–14	12.0
Detroit Shock ^o	10	22	.313	7–14	12.0
Washington Mystics ^o	10	22	.313	4–17	12.0

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
Tari Phillips	32	32	32.8	.507	.000	.584	8.0	1.1	1.5	0.5	15.3
Crystal Robinson	32	32	30.6	.461	.417	.897	2.9	2.6	1.0	0.3	10.7
Teresa Weatherspoon	32	32	30.4	.431	.385	.671	3.7	6.3	1.7	0.1	6.5
Vickie Johnson	32	32	29.3	.414	.366	.757	3.3	2.7	1.1	0.1	11.0
Tamika Whitmore	32	29	23.5	.432	.500	.569	3.0	0.6	0.5	0.3	7.1
Sue Wicks	30	3	20.1	.469	.000	.673	4.6	1.2	1.2	1.0	5.2
Becky Hammon	32	0	19.3	.457	.378	.784	1.6	1.6	0.8	0.0	8.2
Camille Cooper	4	0	12.8	.667	N/A	.769	2.8	0.3	0.0	0.5	6.5
Andrea Nagy	23	0	9.3	.419	.500	.500	0.4	1.0	0.1	0.1	1.5
Katarina Lazić	8	0	6.9	.400	.000	.500	0.8	0.4	0.4	0.0	2.1
Rebecca Lobo	16	0	5.3	.318	.500	.500	0.9	0.1	0.1	0.0	1.1
Grace Daley	15	0	4.4	.476	.000	.556	0.5	0.7	0.5	0.1	1.7
Stacey Ford	1	0	3.0	1.000	N/A	N/A	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0
Hajdana Radunović	4	0	2.3	.500	N/A	1.000	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.0
Mactabene Amachree	2	0	1.5	N/A	N/A	.500	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.5	0.5

^‡Waived/Released during the season
^†Traded during the season
^≠Acquired during the season

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "2001 New York Liberty Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024.

[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "2001 New York Liberty Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 23, 2024.

[1]

2001 WNBA season by team
Draft All-Star Game Championship Playoffs
Eastern	Charlotte Sting Cleveland Rockers Detroit Shock Indiana Fever Miami Sol New York Liberty Orlando Miracle Washington Mystics
Western	Houston Comets Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury Portland Fire Sacramento Monarchs Seattle Storm Utah Starzz
← 2000 WNBA season 2002 →