2002 New York Liberty season

2002 New York Liberty season
CoachRichie Adubato
ArenaMadison Square Garden
Attendance14,670 per game
Results
Record18–14 (.563)
Place1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishLost WNBA Finals (2-0) to Los Angeles Sparks
Media
TelevisionWPIX (WB 11)
MSG Network

The 2002 WNBA season was the sixth season for the New York Liberty. The Liberty franchise reached their 4th berth to the WNBA Finals, but lost in a sweep to the Los Angeles Sparks. This was the last season that New York qualified for the WNBA Finals, before their appearance in 2023.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2002 WNBA draft
Round Pick Player Nationality School/Team/Country
2 26 Linda Fröhlich  West Germany UNLV
3 46 Tracy Gahan  United States Iowa State
4 62 Deedee Warley  United States Maryland

Transactions

Date Transaction
April 3, 2002 Traded Rebecca Lobo to the Houston Comets in exchange for a 2002 2nd Round Pick
April 18, 2002 Traded a 2002 1st Round Pick to the Utah Starzz in exchange for Korie Hlede
April 19, 2002 Drafted Linda Fröhlich, Tracy Gahan, and Deedee Warley in the 2002 WNBA Draft
April 22, 2002 Traded Andrea Nagy to the Sacramento Monarchs in exchange for a 2003 2nd Round Pick
April 23, 2002 Traded Grace Daley to the Houston Comets in exchange for a 2003 2nd Round Pick
May 7, 2002 Waived Bethany Donaphin and Deedee Warley
May 8, 2002 Waived Shondra Johnson
May 21, 2002 Waived Mactabene Amachree and Tracy Gahan
July 2, 2002 Waived Marina Ferragut

Roster

2002 New York Liberty roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHeightWeightDOBFromYrs
C42Cooper, Camille6' 4" (1.93m)1979-02-05Purdue1
F/C31Fröhlich, Linda6' 2" (1.88m)185 lb (84kg)1979-06-23UNLVR
G25Hammon, Becky5' 6" (1.68m)136 lb (62kg)1977-03-11Colorado State3
G7Hlede, Korie5' 9" (1.75m)155 lb (70kg)1975-03-29Duquesne4
G/F55Johnson, Vickie5' 9" (1.75m)150 lb (68kg)1972-04-15Louisiana Tech5
C50Ngoyisa, Bernadette6' 4" (1.93m)195 lb (88kg)1982-08-26R
F/C24Phillips, Tari6' 2" (1.88m)200 lb (91kg)1970-03-06Central Florida3
F3Robinson, Crystal5' 11" (1.8m)155 lb (70kg)1974-01-22SE Oklahoma State3
G11Weatherspoon, Teresa5' 8" (1.73m)161 lb (73kg)1965-12-08Louisiana Tech5
F44Whitmore, Tamika6' 2" (1.88m)215 lb (98kg)1977-06-05Memphis3
F23Wicks, Sue6' 3" (1.91m)174 lb (79kg)1966-11-26Rutgers5
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

2002 game log
Total: 18–14 (Home: 10–6; Road: 8–8)
May: 2–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 May 25 @ Los Angeles L 64–72 Vickie Johnson (19) Vickie Johnson (6) Teresa Weatherspoon (5) Staples Center 0–1
2 May 28 @ Portland W 84–62 Becky Hammon (22) Tari Phillips (9) Teresa Weatherspoon (11) Rose Garden 1–1
3 May 30 @ Seattle W 78–61 Crystal Robinson (17) Johnson
Whitmore (7) 		Teresa Weatherspoon (4) KeyArena 2–1
June : 6–7 (Home: 4–3; Road: 2–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
4 June 2 Miami W 58–52 Crystal Robinson (16) Phillips
Whitmore (5) 		Teresa Weatherspoon (3) Madison Square Garden 3–1
5 June 5 Detroit W 60–59 Vickie Johnson (21) Tari Phillips (8) Teresa Weatherspoon (4) Madison Square Garden 4–1
6 June 8 @ Indiana L 62–71 Tamika Whitmore (18) Phillips
Wicks (6) 		Teresa Weatherspoon (6) Conseco Fieldhouse 4–2
7 June 9 @ Detroit W 70–63 Crystal Robinson (19) Phillips
Wicks (6) 		Teresa Weatherspoon (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills 5–2
8 June 11 @ Utah W 71–68 Tari Phillips (22) Tari Phillips (8) Teresa Weatherspoon (5) Delta Center 6–2
9 June 13 @ Sacramento L 77–78 (2OT) Tamika Whitmore (21) Phillips
Robinson (7) 		Teresa Weatherspoon (12) ARCO Arena 6–3
10 June 16 Charlotte W 54–53 Vickie Johnson (15) Tari Phillips (7) Teresa Weatherspoon (5) Madison Square Garden 7–3
11 June 18 Orlando L 62–71 Crystal Robinson (19) Tari Phillips (7) Teresa Weatherspoon (6) Madison Square Garden 7–4
12 June 21 @ Cleveland L 69–80 Vickie Johnson (19) Tari Phillips (5) Teresa Weatherspoon (9) Gund Arena 7–5
13 June 23 @ Orlando L 65–77 Tari Phillips (16) Phillips
Whitmore (8) 		Johnson
Weatherspoon (5) 		TD Waterhouse Centre 7–6
14 June 25 Indiana W 74–55 Crystal Robinson (24) Tari Phillips (8) Teresa Weatherspoon (10) Madison Square Garden 8–6
15 June 28 Cleveland L 58–67 Tari Phillips (18) Tari Phillips (9) Robinson
Weatherspoon (4) 		Madison Square Garden 8–7
16 June 30 Portland L 44–54 Crystal Robinson (17) Tari Phillips (7) Teresa Weatherspoon (6) Madison Square Garden 8–8
July : 7–2 (Home: 5–0; Road: 2–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
17 July 2 Seattle W 74–63 Tari Phillips (19) Hammon
Phillips
Weathersppon
Wicks (3) 		Johnson
Weathersppon (6) 		Madison Square Garden 9–8
18 July 8 Phoenix W 77–71 Tamika Whitmore (28) Phillips
Whitmore (5) 		Teresa Weatherspoon (9) Madison Square Garden 10–8
19 July 10 @ Detroit L 63–66 Crystal Robinson (17) Tari Phillips (7) Teresa Weatherspoon (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 10–9
20 July 13 @ Washington W 67–53 Vickie Johnson (19) Tari Phillips (12) Vickie Johnson (5) MCI Center 11–9
21 July 18 Los Angeles W 72–59 Tamika Whitmore (25) Tari Phillips (9) Teresa Weatherspoon (6) Target Center 12–9
22 July 19 @ Indiana W 70–62 Becky Hammon (15) Tari Phillips (5) Vickie Johnson (4) Conseco Fieldhouse 13–9
23 July 22 Cleveland W 73–52 Tari Phillips (15) Hammon
Phillips (5) 		Hammon
Johnson (3) 		Madison Square Garden 14–9
24 July 23 @ Miami L 46–54 Crystal Robinson (12) Tamika Whitmore (8) Teresa Weatherspoon (3) American Airlines Arena 14–10
25 July 28 Houston W 62–56 Tamika Whitmore (15) Phillips
Whitmore (8) 		Teresa Weatherspoon (4) Madison Square Garden 15–10
August : 3–4 (Home: 1–3; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
26 August 2 Miami W 66–54 Vickie Johnson (20) Tari Phillips (8) Teresa Weatherspoon (10) Madison Square Garden 16–10
27 August 4 @ Charlotte W 71–58 Vickie Johnson (20) Sue Wicks (9) Teresa Weatherspoon (8) Charlotte Coliseum 17–10
28 August 6 Minnesota L 49–52 Tari Phillips (17) Tari Phillips (11) Vickie Johnson (6) Madison Square Garden 17–11
29 August 8 Washington L 54–65 Tari Phillips (22) Tari Phillips (11) Hammon
Weatherspoon (4) 		Madison Square Garden 17–12
30 August 9 @ Washington W 74–66 Becky Hammon (22) Weatherspoon
Whitmore (6) 		Teresa Weatherspoon (8) MCI Center 18–12
31 August 11 Charlotte L 58–71 Crystal Robinson (16) Tamika Whitmore (8) Teresa Weatherspoon (7) Madison Square Garden 18–13
32 August 13 @ Orlando L 63–70 Phillips
Whitmore (20) 		Tari Phillips (10) Hammon
Robinson (3) 		TD Waterhouse Centre 18–14
2002 season schedule

Playoffs

2002 playoff game log
First round vs. Indiana Fever
Won Series: 2–1
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 August 16 @ Indiana L 55–73 Tamika Whitmore (18) Becky Hammon (5) Teresa Weatherspoon (4) Conseco Fieldhouse 0–1
2 August 18 Indiana W 84–65 Tamika Whitmore (24) Tamika Whitmore (6) Teresa Weatherspoon (9) Madison Square Garden 1–1
3 August 20 Indiana W 75–60 Vickie Johnson (19) Vickie Johnson (7) Teresa Weatherspoon (7) Madison Square Garden 2–1
Conference Finals vs. Washington Mystics
Won Series: 2–1
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 August 22 @ Washington L 74–79 Tari Phillips (21) Phillips
Robinson
Weatherspoon
Whitmore (5) 		Teresa Weatherspoon (9) MCI Center 0–1
2 August 24 Washington W 96–79 Phillips
Whitmore (23) 		Tari Phillips (6) Teresa Weatherspoon (12) Madison Square Garden 1–1
3 August 25 Washington W 64–57 Vickie Johnson (19) Tari Phillips (11) Teresa Weatherspoon (4) Madison Square Garden 2–1
WNBA Finals vs. Los Angeles Sparks
Lost Series: 0–2
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 August 29 Los Angeles L 63–71 Becky Hammon (18) Teresa Weatherspoon (7) Johnson
Phillips
Weatherspoon (3) 		Madison Square Garden 0–1
2 August 31 @ Los Angeles L 66–69 Phillips
Whitmore (17) 		Tari Phillips (8) Teresa Weatherspoon (5) Staples Center 0–2
2002 playoff schedule

Season standings

Eastern Conference W L PCT Conf. GB
New York Liberty x 18 14 .563 11–10 –
Charlotte Sting x 18 14 .563 12–9 –
Washington Mystics x 17 15 .531 12–9 1.0
Indiana Fever x 16 16 .500 12–9 2.0
Orlando Miracle o 16 16 .500 13–8 2.0
Miami Sol o 15 17 .469 11–10 3.0
Cleveland Rockers o 10 22 .312 7–14 8.0
Detroit Shock o 9 23 .281 6–15 9.0

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
Crystal Robinson 32 32 33.4 .417 .370 .819 2.8 2.5 1.5 0.4 11.8
Vickie Johnson 31 31 33.2 .456 .421 .803 3.5 2.8 0.9 0.1 11.6
Tari Phillips 32 31 31.5 .491 .000 .675 7.0 1.3 1.8 0.4 14.1
Tamika Whitmore 32 32 30.5 .477 .000 .733 4.4 0.7 0.8 1.3 12.7
Teresa Weatherspoon 32 32 29.8 .342 .100 .519 2.7 5.7 1.3 0.1 3.4
Becky Hammon 32 1 20.6 .442 .386 .679 2.1 1.7 0.8 0.0 8.0
Sue Wicks 30 0 14.3 .343 .000 .667 3.4 0.5 0.7 0.5 2.2
Korie Hlede 16 0 8.1 .423 .000 .444 1.0 0.8 0.4 0.1 1.6
Camille Cooper 23 1 5.2 .393 N/A .625 0.7 0.1 0.2 0.2 1.2
Linda Fröhlich 16 0 4.2 .100 .000 1.000 0.8 0.1 0.1 0.0 0.4
Bernadette Ngoyisa 7 0 1.7 .600 N/A N/A 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.9


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

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "2002 New York Liberty Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2024.