NEW YORK – The Liberty (9-10) ended its two-game home winning streak after being edged by the Indiana Fever (13-7), 84-81, in overtime on Sunday afternoon.

An announced crowd of 9,508 witnessed an exciting and hard-fought contest between two of the six tightly bunched Eastern Conference teams that are vying for a playoff spot.

How the teams scored their points may have determined the outcome. Although each club has three scorers in double digits, the Liberty had almost a total reliance upon superstar Cappie Pondexter. 

The 5-9 guard scored a career high of 40 points. She netted 14 of 21 shots from the floor, five of nine from beyond the arc. Pondexter succeeded in 7 of 8 attempts from the charity stripe. Only one another Liberty player, rookie Karlena Greene went to the free-throw line. She sunk both shots. Pondexter also led the team by dishing seven of the liberty’s 15 assists and led in rebounds (tied with Janel Mccarville) with six.

After the contest, Liberty coach Anne Donovan commented about Pondexter, “Cappie proved to be one of the special talents in the WNBA. Cappie is an MVP type of player, [but] we can’t win with Cappie scoring more than half of the points.”

Several of the Liberty players had disappointing performances. Nicole Powell missed all ten shots she took. Taj McWilliams-Franklin only netted one of nine shots. Of the two Donovan said, “I’m comfortable when she’s [Powell] taking shots. Usually she [McWilliams-Franklin] gives us a lift. Tonight was not her night.”

Donovan began her remarks in a very dispirited manner, but then spoke in a positive way regarding the club’s chances to make the playoffs, “I’m really disappointed. These are the kinds of games we need to win in the Garden. We’re capable. I feel very good about our personnel. People just have to step up.”

Leilani Mitchell, the shortest player on the team, is proving to be big on the court. She scored all 15 points on shots from three-point range.

The Fever had three main sources for its offense. Tamika Catchings was the high-scorer with 22. The All-Star also led Indiana with 10 boards and seven assists. She was complemented by another All-Star, Katie Douglas, who scored 21. Forward Ebony Hoffman scored 15 and grabbed eight rebounds. Hoffman said, “We kind of have our core group back.”

The Liberty trails Connecticut for a spot in the playoffs by 2.5 games. The team has a crucial three-game road trip against eastern Conference rivals. The team’s chances for success in 2010 will be much clearer when it returns to MSG on July 27 to face San Antonio.

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