Or, in the case of head coach Mo Cassara’s game night wardrobe choice, it’s sometimes better to change nothing at all.

The Hofstra Pride may be a mediocre 6-7 so far this season, but Cassara’s suit is a perfect 4-0 after his team forced 18 first-half turnovers, built a 19-point second-half lead, and held on down the stretch for a surprising 83-75 upset victory over the Iona Gaels (10-3) before 4,258 fans at the Mack Sports Complex on Thursday night.

After a 2-1 start to the season, the Pride lost six of its next seven games. Hofstra’s only win in that stretch was ten-point victory over talented Cleveland State (12-2), during which Cassara sported a dark gray suit with a white shirt and yellow tie.

Some coaches go back to the drawing board after results like that.

Cassara however, consulted his closet, and out came the same ensemble for Hofstra’s next two games – a 20-point domination of Binghamton and a 23-point thrashing of Colgate, each at home.

Naturally, Cassara went back to his strong suit again, this time, to beat Iona, the preseason Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference favorite.

“I’ve worn this suit the last three games,” a relaxed Cassara confessed after the win. “I actually wore it for the Cleveland State game. Same socks, same shoes, same shirt. I’m actually excited to get it dry cleaned because that means we’re starting to play pretty well [again].”

Hofstra did, on Thursday night, to the dismay of Iona, which came out flat and sloppy, committing a season-high 23 turnovers, 18 in the opening half, when the Pride held a 17-6 advantage in points off turnovers to build a 43-28 lead by intermission, after closing the final 8:32 of the half on a game-turning 21-6 run.

The Pride scored the first four points of the second half to extend its advantage to a game-high lead of 47-28 (matched twice later) on a jumper by senior guard Mike Moore, who rebounded from a poor 1-for-6 start from the field, to finish 8-for-17 from the floor (including 4-for-9 from three-point range) and lead all scorers with 24 points.

Unlike in some of the Pride’s losses this season, Moore this time, had enough help, especially from a pair of players – senior guard/forward Nathaniel Lester and junior forward David Imes – whom the Pride had counted on as being the second and third scoring options to Moore, but who had largely disappointed this year.

Eclipsing 13 points for just the third time this year, Lester added 21 points (14 in the second half) on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and ten rebounds, and Imes (16 points, game and season-high 15 rebounds) finished well above his season averages of 6.2 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Cassara knows he’ll need that type of production from his forwards if Hofstra is to continue its turnaround, and he’s hoping that a win over the Gaels this year will have the same effect that a humbling 25-point loss was to Iona exactly a year ago.

“Last year at Iona was a turning point for us,” Cassara said. “From that point on, we played very well for the rest of the season.” In Cassara’s rookie year as a Division I head coach last season, the Pride went on to its highest finish (tied for second place) in the Colonial Athletic Association.

This time, performing so well against Iona might be just what Imes and Lester needed to help Hofstra get hot again.

“It’s a big confidence booster,” Imes said. “I needed that.”

Lester, who entered the game shooting just 36.9 percent from the field for the season, added, “Seeing the ball go through the basket helps [my] confidence, it puts confidence in my teammates, and [can] help us get on a roll.”

Senior point guard Dwan McMillan also outplayed former high school (St. Benedict’s Prep, NJ) teammate and Iona star Scott Machado (who entered with 14.3 points and 10.4 assists per game).

With junior point guard Stevie Mejia sitting out for the fifth time in six games with an injury, McMillan played the entire game, scoring ten points, handing out nine assists, and committing four turnovers.

Machado meanwhile, scored just five points and committed a game-high six turnovers despite posting a game-high ten assists before fouling out with 2:37 left.

The Pride maintained as much as a 13-point lead until Harlem, NY product and University of Arizona transfer Lamont “Momo” Jones, who scored 16 of his team-high 20 points in the second half, helped keep Iona in the game. The Gaels closed to within seven points on five separate occasions in the final 7:46, but could get no closer.

Both Jones and head former C.W. Post (Division II) head coach Tim Cluess (who was passed over by Hofstra when the Pride hired Cassara) each admitted that some Iona players were more concerned about their families and friends in attendance, and finally getting to play near their own New Rochelle, NY campus again, after a starting a road swing 6-1, at mostly much further locales than Hempstead.

“We didn’t come out ready to play,” Jones said. “I think we were too happy to be [near] home, not really taking this game as we would have, naturally, on the road [further from home].”

Cluess added, “I knew we were in a little bit of trouble when it became more about tickets for the game than about the game itself.”

He also thought his team was complacent from its earlier season success and some resulting media publicity, while praising Hofstra.

“I thought they played a heck of a game right from the get-go,” Cluess said. “They came with more energy than us, [and] they played harder than us, right from the start. It looked like it meant more to them than it did to our guys… I think our guys were drinking the Kool-Aid a little too much… way too many second-chance opportunities. I think 45 of their 83 points were handed to them.”

The first-year Division I head coach was referring to Hofstra 26 points off of turnovers, 13 second-chance points, and six fast break points. In contrast, the Pride gave the Gaels 33 easy points, including 18 points off of 16 Hofstra turnovers and ten fast break points, but just five second-chance points.

Powerful star senior forward and Bronx native Mike Glover (20 points on 9-for-11 shooting from the field), who scored six of Iona’s first ten points on three dunks, chimed in on the intensity shown by the Gaels’ opponents, saying, “I think they were very hungry.”

Reflecting on his team’s other big win this season, Cassara said, “Probably on paper, the two best teams that we’ve played this year are Cleveland State and Iona, RPI-wise, record-wise, everything-wise, personnel-wise, and we’ve beaten both of them, so we certainly have the capability to be very competitive.”

As for the lucky suit?

Cassara didn’t say if he’d wear it for Hofstra’s next game, on Monday night at 7 pm ET, when Hofstra (0-1 CAA) hosts last year’s Final Four participant Virginia Commonwealth (10-3, 0-1 CAA), as the calendar turns to 2012 and the schedule focuses exclusively on conference play (except for a February non-conference Bracketbuster game) for the remainder of the regular season.

Being able to wear a lot more post-victory smiles however, would suit Cassara just fine.

* * *

Notes: In attendance, were well-known WFAN (New York) sports radio talk show host Mike Francessa (opposite the Hofstra bench) and to the left of the Iona bench, along the west baseline, former NBA player Wally Szcerbiak (who starred at nearby Cold Spring Harbor high school) and his father and ex-ABA player Walter Szcerbiak.

RUTGERS-The Scarlet Knights,off of a surprisingly good 15-17 record under first year head coach Mike Rice, return stars Gilvydas Biruta and Dane Miller and shooter Mike Poole. They also bring in a talented freshman class anchored by St. Anthony’s point guard and Jerome Seagears from Baltimore. The Knights will mss the scoring of Jonathan Mitchell, now playing in Europe, but for the first time in years have much depth and athleticism. They play a challenging schedule which includes LSU and Florida at the RAC and Miami on the road.  Prediction: NIT.

SETON HALL- They return pg Jerome Theodore and forward Herb Pope, but lose leading scorer Jeremy Hazell from last year’s disappointing squad. Second year head coach Kevin Willard brings in some talented but untested frosh who will have to contribute.    Prediction: No postseason.

ST. JOHN’S- The surprise of the Big East regular season last year under new head coach Steve Lavin. The veteran coach and former UCLA mentor had 10 seniors on his squad and they finally performed as a unit. He lost all of them, along with a frosh transfer and he returns exactly 3.0 of scoring. Lavin brought in a Top 10 nationally recruiting class, but 5 of them will not be eligible until second semester.The star of that class is 6-8 Maurice Harkless. He also has one of the most challenging out of Conference schedules in the country. Lavin is a good coach and Gene Keady, former Purdue coach is an excellent bench assistant, but the team will struggle, especially early on. Prediction: No postseason.

Yet, even for a team which has become used to exceeding expectations this season, the Pride’s latest win – rallying for an exhilarating 92-90 overtime victory over CAA rival James Madison (15-6, 5-4) before 2,324 fans at the Mack Sports Complex on Monday night – provided another revelation about the grit, determination and growth which has thus far propelled Hofstra (14-6, 8-1) to this point in the season.

Like the early part of season, which saw the Cassara regime stumble to a 1-3 start with only a lone win over Division III Farmingdale State, much looked lost for the Pride against JMU on Monday night.

The team that lost two head coaches (one to another head coaching job, another to a drunken driving charge), two all-CAA rookie starters (who subsequently defected to other schools), and another key player to an injury during the offseason blew early leads of 7-0 and 13-5, and led just 17-16 with 10:44 left in the opening half.

A three-pointer by junior guard Mike Moore (14 points, 7 rebounds) pushed Hofstra’s lead back to 22-16, just 1:01 later. But, the Dukes closed the half on a 25-6 run to lead, 41-28, at halftime, and JMU extended that margin to a game’s largest advantage, 43-28, just 27 seconds into the second half.

Leading the way for JMU to that point were senior forward Denzel Bowles (team-high 27 points, 10 rebounds) and junior forward Julius Wells (23 points), who combined to outscore Hofstra themselves in the first half (Bowles scored 15 points and Wells had 14 points before halftime).

Bowles gave the Dukes a 52-38 lead on a jumper with 14:47 left, but freshman guard Shemiye McClendon (14 of Hofstra’s 16 bench points) scored three points before and after Jenkins (game-high 35 points, 11-19 fg, 11-13 ft) scored five points during an 11-0 Hofstra spurt that pulled the Pride to within 52-49, with 11:22 left in regulation.

However, four different Dukes scored during a 17-9 run, to push JMU’s lead back to 69-58, with 6:34 remaining in the second half.

Hofstra though, began to move the ball nicely to get right back in the game again. Senior Australian point guard Brad Kelleher (10 points, team-high 5 assists, 1 turnover) made a three-pointer and a pair of free throws, and then nice skip passes by Moore and Kelleher on consecutive three-pointers by Jenkins and McClendon highlighted an 11-2 Pride run which cut the Dukes’ lead to just 71-69, with 3:33 left in the half, forcing a JMU timeout.

The Dukes would twice build a five-point lead, but two free throws from Jenkins and a layup by Moore pulled Hofstra to within 76-75, with 1:16 remaining in regulation.

Russian sophomore forward Andrey Semenov (10 points, 8-8 ft, off the bench) hit two free throws to extend JMU’s lead to 78-75 with 53.4 seconds left in the half, but a nice swooping layup along the right blocks by Kelleher trimmed JMU’s lead to 78-77, with 38.2 seconds left in the half.

Sophomore guard Devon Moore (13 points, game-high 8 assists) made one free throw but a lane violation by Semenov denied Moore a second attempt, and JMU led 79-78.

McClendon then made two free throws to tie the game, 79-79, with 17.6 seconds left in regulation.

Devon Moore drove along the left blocks looking for a game-winning basket, but sophomore guard Yves Jules (Brooklyn, NY), who only played four minutes, and whose only box score contribution was a single steal, typified what Cassara has been preaching to his team about the little things it takes to compete for a conference title.

Jules stripped Moore and time ran out, sending the game to overtime, with Hofstra riding momentum.

“I don’t think anybody in [the media room after the game] probably thought we’d be 8-1 [in CAA play] right now, including myself,” said Cassara. “But, this team is coming together as a group and as a family, and we believe in each other. One thing I’m really proud of is our bench is [mentally] into the game every game, and that’s the type of stuff that’s going to continue to help us win games…Yves Jules who didn’t play a lot of minutes, comes in and plays three great defensive possessions for us.”

Nicknamed “The Jury Box” by his teammates, Jules, who averages just 8.4 minutes per game, helps set the defensive tone in practice for the Pride.

We call him the “Jury Box” because he locks up with his defensive ability. He gets us going all the time and all his stuff starts on defense.”

That was an area that needed considerable improvement after halftime for Hofstra to be able to rally to victory. “I think we got complacent on defense,” Cassara said about his team’s ability to take “The Jury Box’s” cue and lock in defensively after Hofstra built its early lead.

But, a switch from an earlier zone defense helped turn things around. JMU shot 48.5 percent (16-for-36) from the field in the opening half, but just 37 percent (10-for-27) from the floor in the second half.

“The one thing we have to do is switch our defenses, said Cassara, “and once we did that, [it helped us] win. We went to man-to-man and that really helped us.”

In contrast to JMU, the Pride caught fire after halftime, outscoring JMU 51-38 in the second half and 13-11 in overtime. Hofstra shot 53.6 percent (15-for-28) from the field after shooting 41.9 percent (13-for-31) in the first half.

A free throw and jumper by Jenkins, a three-pointer by McClendon, and a couple of free throws by Moore sparked an 8-1 Hofstra run that gave the Pride a 90-83 lead with 2:05 left in the extra session, but JMU scored the next six points on a three-pointer by Wells and a three-point play by Bowles, to cut the Pride’s lead to 90-89, with 53.1 seconds left in the game.

That’s when another freshman off of Hofstra’s bench, forward Stephen Nwaukoni (Queens, NY), came through for the Pride.

Like McClendon in the final seconds of regulation, Nwaukoni coolly hit a pair of free throws to extend Hofstra’s lead to 92-89, with 4.6 seconds remaining.

Cassara was especially proud that his two freshmen came through with the poise of upperclassmen in such big spots.

“You have two freshmen,” he said. “One hit two free throws at the end of regulation and one hit two free throws in overtime. I tell our guys every day in practice, free throws are going to win us [games].”

It was no accident that the two freshmen stepped up, especially Nwaukoni, whose effort was noted by Jenkins, an extremely hard worker himself.

“He’s always here an hour early, shooting free throws, working on his game,” Jenkins said of Nwaukoni. “Before he took those free throws, I told him, you worked too hard not to make these.”

Getting to the foul line was a particular point of emphasis for Cassara during intermission. “I jumped on our guys at halftime and told them [that] we only had one free throw in the first half,” Cassara said.

Actually, neither team shot many free throws in the first half (JMU was 3-for-5, Hofstra was 0-for-1), but the Dukes ended up 25-for-33 at the foul line, making 18 of 21 free throws in the second half. The Pride sank 15 of 16 second-half free throws and finished 21-for-23 at the foul line.

Rather than rely on a defensive stop, Cassara then elected to put the Dukes on the foul line. McClendon immediately fouled Wells near midcourt with 3.9 seconds left.

Wells made the first free throw, but missed the second. Jenkins pulled down his third rebound and time expired, giving Hofstra its third straight win following its only conference loss of the season.

Continuing the usual tradition after each home game, an appreciative Jenkins and his teammates visited the Lion’s Den, the Hofstra Student section behind the basket near the opposing team’s bench. “If my arms were big enough, I’d give the whole student section a big hug,” said a smiling Jenkins.

The contributions of senior forward Greg Washington (Centereach, NY) — who had 13 points and game-highs of 11 rebounds and 5 blocks – and the Pride getting Bowles running and fatigued helped Hofstra down the stretch.

“Greg Washington deserves a ton of credit,” said Cassara. “He just did a great job [defending Bowles down the stretch]. And, the one thing we wanted to do was get [Bowles] up and down the court and I think you saw in the last three or four minutes [of regulation] and in overtime, he was kind of laboring a little bit, and our plan worked.”

Cassara called the victory “a great win,” and said, “I’m just so proud of the way our guys hung in there.”

If half-year conference awards were given out, the first-half CAA Coach of the Year would undoubtedly go to Cassara, yet the rookie Division I head coach remains humble and hungry to make his team better.

“I’m a work in progress very much like [my players],” he said. “But, they believe in what I’m telling them and what our staff is telling them, and that’s half the battle. Once they believe in it, I think we can continue to execute even better.”

The key to Hofstra’s success to this point in the season has been focusing on the present rather than dwelling on all that the Pride had to overcome since last season.

“We have every excuse not to be successful,” said Jenkins, who once again played before several NBA scouts on Monday night. “We had all the odds against us. We’ve got a first-year head coach who lost all these players and we had all these things happen in the offseason, and our ability to just let everything go and just play basketball, is just starting to show… our guys are really buying in and playing hard.”

Jenkins’ second-highest scoring output of the season places him just 35 points shy of the Hofstra all-time scoring record of 2,276 career points (set by Jenkins’ former teammate Antoine Agudio, two years ago).

But, personal accolades have never meant much to Jenkins, the nation’s third-leading scorer and the country’s current active career scoring leader. Instead, his primary goal throughout a brilliant college career has been to get his team to the NCAA tournament.

“More importantly, my team is winning,” he said.

So, how satisfying has the winning been for a team that was picked fifth in the CAA and which is the only non-traditional CAA power that is currently positioned for a first-round bye in the CAA tournament with three other perennial CAA mainstays?

“I can’t say it’s satisfying yet,” said Jenkins. “We have a long way to go. If you ask me that question in March, maybe I’ll have a different answer.”

The next step toward finding that fulfillment will be a first-place showdown at Virginia Commonwealth (16-5, 8-1) on Thursday at 7pm ET, before Hofstra returns home to The Mack against Drexel, on Saturday at 4pm ET.

Coming out with great energy after a long break the Dream kept their playoff hopes alive with a huge Game One victory over the New York Liberty by the score of 81-75 on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. Leading the way for Atlanta was forward Angel McCoughtry who had 21 points and five rebounds.

Atlanta who was the best rebounding team in the WNBA showed a very strong showing on the backboards grabbing a whopping 40 total boards. Leading the way was center Sancho Lyttle who had a huge night, finished with a double-double netting 18 points and 13 boards. Forward Erika de Souza also had a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.

“The Dream are a very good rebounding team so you have to keep your focus and put them on your backs and not give them shots and that is the one area we were not able to perform on,” head coach Anne Donovan said after the game.

Cappie Pondexter would have this to say of the game, “Atlanta is a good team. They do what they do well and they definitely did that tonight. We have to make adjustments in terms of how we approach the game. We have to start the game off very aggressive and we have to contain them on the rebounds like we did the second half. They did a great job of playing the transition game. We have to limit Angel McCoughtry going to the free throw line as much as she did today and if we do that I think we’ll be coming back to the Garden for Game Three.”

Lyttle sparked the Dream’s offense from the start netting the first six points for the team before Angel McCoughtry and company finally followed the center’s lead. McCoughtry who always has had a tendency to carry team’s on her back from her collegiate days came alive in the fourth quarter to net 13 points.

Lyttle had this to say of her performance tonight, “I am now getting more of an opportunity to play here with Atlanta and now have a great opportunity to help this franchise win.”

“We have to look back at the way we built the Atlanta Dream team,” head coach Marynell Meadors said of her team after the game. “It’s built on speed, quickness, depth and balance. I think we’ve got great balance from top to bottom, and everybody comes to play. Everybody knows they’re probably going to get in the game, so they’re always ready to play. When one doesn’t play well another one will and that’s the great balance and depth we have.”

The Dream along with rebounding also have some form of kryptonite defense. With having been able to keep both the Washington Mystics and the Liberty off of the scoreboard for the most part offensively. Atlanta also dominated the second chance opportunities netting a total of 22 shots.

“I think at halftime, they had 15 second chance shots already. It is a tough task and I do not know if we are going to come out ahead on the rebounding margin, but what I know is that we cannot give them second chance shots. At that end, we have to do a better job.” Coach Donovan would say.

One thing that may have hindered the Liberty’s chances of a victory is the play of forward Janel McCarville, who is still out with a sprained ankle. McCarville who is the team’s leading rebounded was missed. New York who used its super subs to help them get into tonight’s finals, could not get the same type of contributions tonight.

“Janel was missed in tonight’s game,” Coach Donovan would say. “But our bench was able to step it up in Game Three and we really missed that tonight. The minutes you get on the floor when you are on the bench are earned from what you did on the floor the last game.”

It took the very last seconds of the Fourth Quarter to decide a winner between the two teams as New York was able to have a one point lead with 54.9 seconds remaining. Guard Cappie Pondexter had the ball in her hands to shoot two free throws, which gave New York the lead, while also allowing the 14,248 in attendance to finally explode.

“New York’s crowd is amazing. There were a couple of times when it was deafening. I was trying to call plays and my teammates could not even hear me and they were a few feet away. Congratulations to them for being able to bring a crowd like that, but that is one thing you have to do as a player is tune it out. You can’t worry about those elements of the game. We did a good job and stuck together,” said guard Shalee Lehning, who finished the night with eight points and five assists.

Pondexter lead the way offensively for New York finishing the game with 24 points and four assists. Forward Plenette Pierson had 18 points and five rebounds while Nicole Powell tallied 15 points and four rebounds. The lone double figure rebounded was center Taj McWilliams-Franklin who recorded 11 boards.

“You can’t predict the playoffs, exactly what’s going to happen, but I think the Atlanta Dream just refuse to lose tonight,” coach Meadors would say of her resilient team.  In again another classic matchup between two teams, as there were seven times the two teams were tied seven times to go along with six lead changes.

One can tell that the fans were holding their breath throughout the game; they voiced their displeasure throughout the game as some questionable officiating was found throughout parts of the Sunday night game. And as quickly as the Garden was able to explode the air would be let out again, as  McCoughtry  and Lyttle would end the game as they started it by scoring and closing out the Game One victory.

Lyttle had this to say on her team being able to keep focused inspire of the tight game, “We practice all of these situations in Atlanta. It may be stressful but it help kept us focused, we see these situations all the time. Tonight was the same thing, we are down by four points and all we needed was to go out and get it done.”

“Right now it is all about who wants to win more, it is about the will to win,” Pondexter would say after the game. “We need to do whatever we have to-to bring it home and most importantly we need to stay together.”

The series now shifts to Atlanta for Game Two of this Three Game series on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. It is do or die time for New York if they want to keep their playoff dream along with a shot to advance to the WNBA Finals to face the Western Conference Champion Seattle Storm.

“We need to get that hunger in the belly and come out fighting in Game Three,” Pondexter would say. “These New York Fans deserve something special and I will do everything in my power to do just that.”

The Liberty was able to pull off a win in a true thriller of a game. A game that featured seven lead changes and the two teams being tied a total of seven times. The Liberty was able to prevail over a very tough Indiana team by the score of 77-74 on Wednesday Night basketball at Madison Square Garden.

“It was a typical Indiana-New York matchup, where it’s just grueling and physical and no one is giving up anything easy.” Head Coach Anne Donovan said after the game. “It’s a battle…it’s a great team we just beat and they could be there down the road so I give them a lot of credit.”

New York now advances to the Eastern Conference Finals, as they will take on a very hungry Atlanta Dream team in Round One on Sunday night. Leading the way for New York was MVP candidate Cappie Pondexter who had 30 points to go along with four assist.

“This team is really amazing, especially to have a player out of the game. It’s unbelievable and I am really happy right now.” Pondexter would say after the game. “I have been on two championship teams and one common thing that they had was togetherness. No matter if you are the most talented on the team or what. And that is the one special thing that we have this season.”

Pierson would have this to say on the win tonight” It was a huge win for us tonight.” She would continue by saying. “We had our backs against the wall, we knew we didn’t have a great showing in Game Two; and we really wanted to come out and show our fans that we are here-yeah we messed up but we are ready to play and go on to the next round. We had to defeat a tough team. It went down to the wire but we are just happy that we have that opportunity to play in the next round.”

Indiana had three players finish the night in double figures as they were led by guard Katie Douglas, who found her shot after being shutdown in Game One. Douglas finished with 24 points, four rebounds and four assists. Catchings ended the night with 21 points, six boards and three steals. Forward Ebony Hoffman, who yet again provided some big shots and rebounds for the Fever finished with 13 points and four boards.

“I just thought it was a battle that both teams were playing to win,” Douglas said of the game. “It was overall an incredible game for women’s basketball. You could see that neither team wanted to lose and go home. I’m just proud of the way we fought.”

For New York they were missing a key player in center Janel McCarville, who is day-to-day with a sprained ankle. Stepping up big time in the game on Wednesday was the play of Plenette Pierson and Bronx native Kia Vaughn, as they had 13 points and eight points respectively.  The Mecca crowd of16, 882, including C. Vivian Stringer and Sue Wicks, were on their feet from the start of the game until the end. As the enthusiastic crowd rocked the Garden with their thunder sticks, sang and danced; along with giving this reporter Goose bumps with their energy and support for the Liberty.

“I love the Garden,” Vaughn would say after the game. “It is amazing the fan support you get day in and day out is amazing.” On her play she would have this to say, “I knew that Indiana would be aggressive so I just knew that I had out come out and be aggressive as well. I’m a strong girl…I knew I had to be aggressive and push them around and be the one to get the big rebounds and buckets tonight.”

“The fan support meant a lot,” guard Essence Carson said of the Madison Square Garden crowd support. “They really rallied behind us and were a huge part of us coming back and we really thank all of our fans for their support.”

Pierson also enjoyed the crazy crowd saying, “It meant a lot having that kind of support in the game tonight. When you have that kind of support you can’t help but to will yourself to win.”  She would continue to say, “We need our crowd and we are looking forward to seeing them on Sunday.”

Pondexter who was showered with chants of ‘MVP’ from the Garden faithful also enjoyed the support saying, “It means a lot to me, to know that your city is behind you. They want great basketball; they believe in it, they believe in you. And to see their support and to hear it is overwhelming.” She would continue to say, “This city deserves a lot and I want to be the one that brings it to them.”

Pierson also wants to bring home a title to the Mecca, the forward who celebrated her 29^th birthday on Tuesday had this to say, “We are greedy we don’t want to stop here, it was a nice belated birthday present. I am greedy and I want the big trophy then you can say that is my birthday present.”

Carson was another key part to the Liberty success. The guard had 11 points in the night, did a stellar job in defending forward Tamika Catchings who is easily the MVP for the Fever.  She also had one of the sweetest shots of the night timing a leaping tip-shot at the 4:35 mark of the second quarter to give New York the 40-34 advantage.

“We are just being aggressive on all ends both offensively and defensively,” Carson said of the victory tonight, “We are just attacking what is there and playing the game of basketball, we playing together and playing New York basketball.”

On her defensive performance against Catchings she had this to say, “I tried to make her take all jump shots today. In the first half she hit a lot, and in the later part of the game she hit a few. I knew when it got down to it in the fourth quarter she was going to be pretty tired, she was carrying a lot offensively for that team and it was going to wear her down. It was my job to stand there and make her shoot over me.”

This three game set was truly the definition of Playoff basketball as it brought physical play and thrilling moments throughout the short time the two teams played each other. Considering that these two teams throughout the 2010 season had battled it out it was only appropriate that it would come down to a thrilling Game Three.

“It is a great feeling to know that we are creating a new part of history for the New York Liberty,” Pierson said. “We got a tough battle a head of us in Atlanta. Indiana really pushed us to our limits and we really learned a lot about ourselves. We learned that as long as long as we play together and confidentially there is no one that can stop us. And we will carry that over until we are able to hopefully carry that championship over our head.”

Mitchell who was 7-for-12 from the field, was 4-for-5 from the three-point range, had two of the sweetest shots in the game hitting a back to the basket lay-up to go along with an aggressive lay-up with four Indiana Fever players surrounding her. The point-guard also dished out five assist in the game.

“We just brought a lot of energy, especially defensively because we knew they are a great team. They have a lot of great players so our good defense was able to translate our offense,” Mitchell said of her team’s performance. “Our whole team played great today; the whole team was able to contribute with an assist, a steal or a rebound so it was great for the confidence of each and every one of our players.”

Along with Mitchell three other players were in double-digit scoring including Center Taj McWilliams-Franklin who had double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Guard Cappie Pondexter who was named to the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week for two weeks in a row, scored 13 points to go along with six assists.  Forward Nicole Powell had 10 points for New York to go along with two very big three-point buckets. Rounding out the scoring for the Liberty was Guard Essence Carson who had eight points, while Janel McCarville and Plenette Pierson both had six points each.

“We are just going one game at a time and that is the beauty of this team,” head coach Anne Donovan said after the game. “They understand that you have to go one game at a time. I was really pleased with the mentality of our group. Playing a great team like Indiana and playing well….that’s the most important thing for us.”

Leading the way for the Fever was Forward Tamika Catchings who was on fire the first half of play. Catchings, who is making her bid for MVP, scored 15 points from behind 5-for-5 shooting from the field while also shooting 3-for-3 from the three-point arc. The forward was then kept off the board due to great defense by New York.

“The third quarter was our biggest difference,” Catchings said after the game. “The Liberty was able to come out with more intensity after halftime and we just weren’t able to match that. We have to regroup. We still have two more games. Go to San Antonio from here then we have Minnesota at home. It’s a tight race.”

Essence Carson who again provided a positive spark including a fourth quarter steal and lay-up around the two minute mark, had this to say of the game. “We really defended well tonight they shot just under 40 percent, and we really cleaned up on the rebounds. So that was the main key to our victory tonight.”

Center Taj McWilliams-Franklin who provided New York with some of the biggest rebounds of the game, also with hit a thrilling last second shot in the fourth quarter of play. The center had this to say of the victory, “It was a great team victory we had some goals that we set out to do against the Fever, as well as the playoffs. Right now teams are jockeying for a spot in the playoffs. Today was a game for us as a team that everything fell together.”  McWilliams-Franklin would continue to say, “As our mental focus strengthens we just keep getting better and better.”

Also having a strong game for New York was forward Janel McCarville, giving the Liberty a strong inside post presence to go along with some nice passing and key jumpers throughout. McCarville had this to say of the win, “It was huge to have been able to get the win tonight. To have been able to keep them to six points in the second quarter was great and shows what our team is all about.”  She continued by saying, “Everyone stepped up and so many people on the team are unselfish enough  to give up any shot for one that is open and it has paid off for us.”

New York has two more regular season games at Madison Square Garden before the start of post season play. The team will wrap up their three-game home-stand at the Mecca on Thursday as they take on the Tulsa Shock with tip-off at 7:30 p.m. The schedule includes one last road game on Friday against Washington before the home finale against Connecticut at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.

“Back-to-backs are tough. This is the second for us, and we have another one coming up.” head coach Anne Donovan said after the game. “We had a lot of motivation against Phoenix; the last time when we were there we stumbled. Today everyone was really focused. We just stayed with the game plan. You put your mind into it and get it done.”

The Liberty did just that having five players in double-digit scoring. Leading the way for New York offensively was guard Cappie Pondexter who had 28 points, from 8-for-15 shooting from the field. The MVP candidate was 3-for-7 from the three-point arc. Also having a stellar day shooting was forward Nicole Powell, who had a career-high 23 points. Powell who certainly powered the Liberty shot 8-for-10 from the field, and 7-of-9 from the three-point range.

“We played exceptionally well today, especially going back-to-back,” Pondexter said after the game. “Our focus is absolutely great. We really pushed the tempo, ran the ball down the court, and we set the tone from the beginning.”

Nicole Powell agreed saying, “It was a great win for us today, especially going back-to-back. Everyone is just getting better. That is the most important thing is that everyone keeps getting better.”

Coach Donovan liked what she had seen from her forward Powell saying, “When Nicole (Powell) shoots the ball like that we’re really hard to beat.” Also complimenting Pondexter Donovan stated, “Cappie Pondexter is so good, the best one-on-one player in the league. Then when you add Nicole Powell’s three against the zone, it’s a pretty deadly combination.”

Center Taj McWilliams-Franklin netted 13 points to go along with five rebounds. Forward Plenette Pierson had several nice driving lay-ups for the Liberty in scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Forward Janel McCarville rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points along with grabbing six rebounds and dishing out six assist.

Pierson had this to say of the teams showing tonight, “We played really aggressively tonight, we were able to focus our defense on the League’s leading scorer (Diana Taurasi) and it frustrated her.”  When asked about her brand of play in the game Pierson said, “I was just trying to be aggressive, go after the loose balls and hustled and it was contagious.”

Every single player on the New York bench provided a key moment, stop, rebound, and point in the victory over Phoenix. Guard Essence Carson cashed in on several great scoring opportunities notching eight points while grabbing six boards. Center Kia Vaughn had several strong drives to the net tallying seven points, while grabbing five rebounds.

“It was a great team win,” Carson said after the game. “We were able to get the stops that we needed to and really stepped up today as a team.” The guard would continue to say, “We want to make sure that everyone on the team is ready. That every time someone touches the floor that they are ready to play and come out with a victory.”

Phoenix for the most part was not the offensive juggernaut, having all-time scorer Diana Taurasi kept to five points. Taurasi did have two very nice assists in the game, but it wasn‘t a typical game for league‘s leading scorer.  Stepping up to lead the Mercury offensively was forward DeWanna Bonner, who had 20 points and seven boards.  Guard Temeka Johnson scored 14 points and dishing out four assists. Center Kara Braxton provided a strong inside post presence netting 11 points and grabbing eight boards.

New York played with heart and hustled from the first quarter on. The Liberty and the Mecca was rocking most of the night as the crowd as the 9,645 exploded with energy throughout.  Those fans are going to be in for one wild ride.

“We’ve got a lot of games coming up where we’re going to log a lot of minutes and that locker room is not satisfied,” Coach Donovan said afterward. “Our goal of making the playoffs has been reached tonight, and now we’re going to set new goals for ourselves in the postseason.”

That ride will start on Tuesday as the Liberty square off with the Indiana Fever. The 7:00 p.m. game will be a battle for first place in the Eastern Conference. The Liberty and the Fever have had epic battles in the past and it should be another battle on Tuesday night.

One of the keys to success against the Fever, “Stopping Tamika Catchings,” Pondexter said after the game. “She is really a catalyst for the Fever on both ends of the court. Hopefully we can get her frustrated and not have her score a lot of points against us. Catchings has been on a rampage in this second half, she is a tough player. She sets the tempo of the team and hopefully we can come out and be aggressive and play really well at home.”

Nicole Powell had this to say of the Fever, “Indiana is such a great team they are both tough offensively and defensively. They got some really great offensive players; it’s going to be a challenge. For us we need to be sharp and we need to be ready.  It is going to be a fight; Indiana keeps coming at you so you need to be prepared.”

New York now moves on up the standings as they are now tied for third place in the East as the playoff push continues. Tonight’s win was sweet for Liberty in more ways than one. In terms of the stats four players reached double digit scoring, while the entire team was able to play in tonight’s game. New York was 69.2% shooting from the three-point line as two players displayed some fine shooting from beyond the arc. Those two players were guard Cappie Pondexter who led with 23 points and Leilani Mitchell who had 15 points.

To go beyond the stats from tonight’s game; the Liberty along with the rest of the WNBA honored survivors of Breast Cancer, as before today’s game the Liberty gave pink basketballs to select survivors.  The whole Garden was a shade of Pink to celebrate and honor those survivors. For starting point guard Leilani Mitchell, she was one of the many players who were affected by the disease as she lost her mother last year to breast cancer.

“I played for her today,” Mitchell said after the game. “I was really thinking of her throughout the game.”  The thoughts of her Mom inspired her shooting 4-of-6 from the three- point range, to along with six assists.

Head Coach Anne Donovan had this to say of her point guard, “Leilani came back and Lei was Lei. She is one of the best three-point shooters in the game and we have a ton of confidence in her. So when she is aggressive like she was, it frees everyone else up.”

“You can tell that Lei was really emotional out there today,” Guard Cappie Pondexter said after the game. “It is a really tough thing to go through, but she did a great job for us tonight. The guard earned Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. Pondexter holds the Liberty record for most Player of the Week honors in what is still a young 2010 season. The only other player to nab two was Janel McCarville, who accomplished the feat in 2008.

“It is our defensive intensity,” Pondexter said of the win. “We did a great job of stopping key players like Crystal Langhorne, Katie Smith and Lindsey Harding.” Pondexter also shot 4-of-6 from the three-point range, while also dishing out six assist.

The Mystics who had complete control of the game in the first quarter of play lost total control. As New York cut into and eventually got a well earned victory in the last three quarters of play. New York’s defense attributed to five steals tonight along with a number of shot clock violations to help in the win.

“The key to good defense and passing is it all about giving and trust,” Center Taj McWilliams-Franklin said after the game. “Our defense is contingent on trusting each other. We know when someone is going to be there, and when they are not saying something. That kind of trust only comes with playing with each other.”

On the shot clock violations the center said, “It feels great, it is always like hey if you can do it once let us do it again, you almost get spoiled. It feels good but you also need to do something on the offensive end of the court.”

Taj looking more like the Tasmanian devil cartoon, as the center recorded 12 points, four rebounds four assist and one steal. The center showed some aggressive play in the inside post, while also having some sweet spin shots during the course of the basketball game. The heart and hustle of the center was noticed at the 2:22 mark in the third quarter when Coach Donovan took the center out for a breather. A good majority of the crowd in the Garden stood on their feet to applaud the effort of the center in the game.

“I love it- I love playing- I love competing,” the center said. “There is that feeling when you play sports that you can’t get anywhere else. You want people to be glad that they spend their money to come out to see you.” She would continue to say, “You want to give everything you have out on the court and that is something over the years I have tried to do.

Also giving her all was forward Planate Pierson, who had one of the sweetest shots in the game tonight. Pierson who drove in for a lay-up had the ball spin once around the net before going in. On the night as a whole Pierson had this to say, “It is really inspiring to have been part of the pre-game ceremony with the breast cancer survivors. They are a positive influence for cancer survivors.” Pierson would tell this story as well, “They all said thank you to us when we handed them the pink basketballs, and we were all like thank you for being here today.”

New York will go on to face the fourth-seeded team in the Western Conference, the Minnesota Lynx. The two teams will play on Sunday, August, 8 at 7:00 p.m. On Friday the Liberty will be back to Eastern Conference play as they face the Atlanta Dream, before returning back home on Saturday, August 14 to face the defending WNBA champions Phoenix Mercury with the MSG telecasted game to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

“We can continue to climb and take everything one game at a time,” Leilani Mitchell said of the playoff push. “We just need to play hard and bring energy like we did most of the game tonight and we will be alright.”

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Charity Note: On Saturday August 14 prior to the 7:30 p.m. game the New York Liberty along with the Garden of Dreams Foundation is set to host annual school supply drive. The first 500 fans who bring unused supplies such as pencils, notebooks, crayons will receive a special commemorative Liberty item. Collection bins will be set up in the mall area as fans enter The Garden.

“I think we have been playing good basketball for a while,” head coach Anne Donovan said after the game. “In this game we fought hard and won the game with a couple of key stops. Overall it was a good win against a very good team.”

The two teams fought hard all game long as New York and the Sun are battling for a playoff spot this season. The Liberty was able to finally secure the victory in the final two quarters of the game. Pondexter lead the team in scoring with 24 points and five rebounds, and reached her milestone moment in the fourth quarter of play.

Pondexter had this to say when she was asked about her first bucket in the WNBA, “It was a TV game against Sacramento and it was the worst game of my career. I remember going home and crying. It was so terrible, stank the gym up. From that day on I’ve been playing at a higher level. It’s a great honor and I’m pleased to know that my hard work has paid off, but I still want to win. I still have more to go.”

Guard Leilani Mitchell followed with 15 points, while forwards Janelle McCarville and Plenette Pierson both had nine buckets each, while providing key buckets in the paint for New York in the final moments of the game.

“We are playing hard, we want to make it to the playoffs and we are not going to be denied.” Mitchell said of her team after the game. “As the season goes along we are going to keep getting better and better every game.” In terms of tonight’s game. “We knew they were going to come out fighting and that is exactly what they did. The big thing for us is that we were able to make the big stops when we needed it.”

To round out the Liberty scoring center Taj-McWilliams-Franklin continued her fine play by scoring six points and grabbed five boards for New York. Guard Essence Carson provided a positive spark for New York in the first half of play and finished up the night with five points.

“I was really looking to attack and be aggressive,” Carson said of her play of the bench. “You have got to make sure you are mentally ready at all times and when your number is called you need to make sure you go out to the floor and contribute. Carson who stepped in at the 7:20 mark in the second quarter had a jumper to go along with a strong driving lay-up. The guard also had a huge steal at the 2:46 mark and has provided the team with good energy all season long.  Carson agrees saying, “I would like to think I bring positive energy to the team and that has been really evident in the past few games.”

Connecticut had four players in double digit scoring. The Sun tonight were led by forward Asjha Jones who had 18 points and eight rebounds. Guard Renee Montgomery followed with 14 points to go along with five assist, while rookie of the year candidate Tina Charles had a double-double netting 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

In a game that featured 11 lead changes along with the two teams being tied a total of 10 times. The Liberty had the slight edge over the Sun as Plenette Pierson drained two good free throws with 24 seconds left to give New York the 34-31 lead.  Asjha Jones would cut give Connecticut much needed momentum as she hit a jumper with two seconds left to make the score 34-33 going into half time.

Guard Kara Lawson hit a huge three-pointer at the 8:36 mark to give the Sun the 36-34 lead. Leilani Mitchell responded by draining two huge three-points shots for the 44-36 New York lead. The Sun would start to cut into that lead at the 4:11 mark, when Tina Charles took charge and drove in for a strong lay-up to cut the New York lead to 44-41.

Renee Montgomery would keep chipping away and give Connecticut the lead on a series which included two good free throws, along with a running hook shot at the 3:21 mark. The Sun would continue to build on that lead with a series that consisted of Asjha Jones hitting two good free throws along with a jumper at the 2:15 mark which made the score 50-44.  Charles would continue to add to that lead with a lay-up with 1:58 left. The Liberty started to show life in the last minute of the third quarter as Cappie Pondexter made a strong move to the hoop for a lay-up. Leilani Mitchell hit two good free throws, and got a huge steal with 58 seconds left. Pondexter would work her final second magic and make a jumper with 23 seconds remaining to cut the Sun lead to 52-50.

Fans would start to get fired up as Liberty great Teresa Weatherspoon got the 9,341 on their feet. The energetic crowd started to rock the Garden and give New York the boost of energy it needed for a huge fourth quarter run. Taj McWilliams-Franklin had a huge rebound and a put-back lay-up at the 7:59 mark to cut the Sun lead to 56-54 in the start of the frame. Plenette Pierson would tie the two teams up with a lay-up with 7:12 to go. The milestone moment for Pondexter came at the 6:05 mark as the guard hit a jumper to make the score 60-56.

Pondexter would continue to have a hot shooters touch, as she hit a huge three-point shot, with 3:37 to go to give New York the 65-63 lead. Right after the officials time out at 2:59 the Sun had a huge steal by Sandrine Gruda, while Renee Montgomery was fouled and hit two good free throws. Those free throws would tie the two teams up 65-65 with 2:40 remaining. A steal with 30 seconds remaining by Taj-McWilliams Franklin led to a Connecticut foul on Cappie Pondexter. The guard would hit two good free throws to give New York the 70-67 lead. The Sun would continue to foul in the last couple of seconds to play as Janel McCarville hit a free throw and make a thunderous block to help secure the 71-67 victory.

“Everyone in the east this year is strong, Connecticut is no exception,” McCarville said after the game. “They were bound to make runs in this game and we knew it, it’s just a matter of how we responded to it.” The forward would continue saying, “They got in, they took the lead, but we were able to fight, keep our position and not give too much, and we were able to make the lat run in the game in order to get the win.”

Pondexter agrees with her teammate saying, “Any given night any team can win no matter what the record it. It’s weird because we’ve been saying that we’re a really good team, our record didn’t really show it and then we started to fall short in games in the fourth quarter. I am grateful though that we were able to learn those tough lessons because now they are starting to show off.”

New York now takes firm control of fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The playoff push continues for the Liberty, as the team now travels to take on the Indiana Fever for another vital game on Tuesday. The Liberty will return home for a 7:30 p.m. Friday night game against the third-seeded Washington Mystics.

“We kept digging ourselves into a hole,” Kalana Greene said of the close game tonight. “We gave ourselves the lead and then San Antonio goes on a run, they know how to play this game to get back into it. But we reached and we executed well enough on offense down the stretch to come away with the win.”

Greene who netted 17 points and eight rebounds in 24: 30 of playing time, helped to push New York to victory in spite of another close contest. The two teams today were tied four times and the game had six lead changes.  The victory was a big one for New York as they are now the fifth-seeded team in the Eastern Conference standings.

Forward Plenette Pierson who had 16 points and eight rebounds, with some of the biggest defensive rebounds of the game belonging to the forward in the game.  Eastern Conference player of the week Cappie Pondexter netted 13 points, four rebounds and four assist, while point guard Leilani Mitchell had 10 points and eight rebounds. The combination of Pierson, Greene and Carson all came off the bench tonight and provided many key moments in the victory for New York tonight.

“It is awesome to play great team basketball,” Cappie Pondexter said of the game tonight. “It feels good not having to take all of the shots or force everything. I think these guys did a great job of coming in and brining so much energy. That energy brought so much pressure on San Antonio they did not know what to do.”

Head Coach Anne Donovan also liked what she had seen from the bench players saying, “I think Plenette Pierson, Kalana Greene, and Essence Carson all came in and gave us a big lift. More than half of our points came from those three and eleven boards to go with it. When your number is called you’ve got to be ready to go and the three of them were called and they, all three stepped up.”

San Antonio was led by forward Chamique Holdsclaw who is an alum of Christ the King High School. Holdsclaw had 18 points and nine rebounds in a fine game for the Silver Stars. Center Michelle Snow followed with 14 points and eight rebounds and forward Sophia Young had 12 points and five boards. Fan favorite and former Liberty star Becky Hammon had 10 points and four boards along with showing off some of her patented moves to the crowd in tonight’s game.

The Liberty got the game going on a good note building a first quarter lead of 16-9 at the 1:25 mark as forward Plenette Pierson netted a hook shot t with the assist from Leilani Mitchell. Guard Essence Carson hit a running jump shot with 31 seconds remaining to give New York the 18-11 lead. Silver Star center Michelle Snow drove to the hoop and netted a lay-up to cut the lead to 18-13 at the end of the first quarter.

San Antonio started to chip into the New York lead in the second quarter as guard Roneeka Hodges drained a three-point shot at 3:28 to make the score 29-26. Carson hit a jumper with 3:09 remaining to give the Liberty the 31-26 lead. Forward Sophia Young would cut into the lead again for San Antonio by hitting a jumper to make things 31-30 with 2:50 remaining.

The two teams would go into half time tied 36-36 as Kalana Greene hit a jumper with 26 seconds left. Sophia Young answered back with a bank jumper with seven seconds left which made the half tense for both teams.

As third quarter began with the lead thanks to back-to-back lay-ups by Young and Chamique Holdsclaw, gave the Silver Stars the 42-39 lead with 7:57 left.  For the 10,712 in attendance felt like they were having a bad case of déjà-vu as the Liberty have lost games in the second half of play. Thankfully for those fans Taj McWilliams-Franklin hit a big lay-up at the 2:44 mark which made the score 54-48 in favor of the Liberty.  Greene would hit a big three-pointer with 29 seconds, which was followed by a jumper with eight seconds remaining to give New York the 61-57 lead.

Hustle and heart helped the Liberty win the final quarter as San Antonio would continue to fight for the win. Cappie Pondexter hit a huge three-point shot at the 8:10 mark to make the score 64-57 in favor of New York. Holdsclaw drove hard into the lane to get a lay-up to cut the Liberty lead to 67-63 with 7:05 remaining. Pierson who grabbed four rebounds in the fourth quarter was essential in the victory as the Silver Stars seemingly had second chance shots for most of the game. Along with those rebounds a huge driving lay-up with 2:24 left gave New York the 75-69 lead.

“It is just a matter of heart,” Pierson said of her rebounding performance today. “I wanted the ball more and I wanted to help the team win so that we can continue our playoff push.” Of her overall performance Pierson said, “My teammates got me into a really good position tonight in where I could get easy baskets and attack their defense and I wanted to go out and play hard for them tonight.”

San Antonio would not quit as Roneeka Hodges continued a fine evening by hitting a huge three-pointer with 44 seconds left to make the score 75-72 in favor of New York. Hustle and heart continued to lead the way for New York as Taj McWilliams-Franklin got a key steal and two good free throws to seal the 77-72 victory.

The Liberty will next be in Madison Square Garden for another big home game against the Los Angeles Sparks who are fourth-seeded in the Western Conference. Each game and victory is vital for New York as they hope to make a trip to the playoffs this season. Tip-off time for the Liberty vs. Sparks game is slated for 7:30 p.m.

“It is a fight and we just have to keep on winning.” Cappie Pondexter said of the playoff push. “Right now we are trying to climb up that ladder. We are going to keep fighting. The team is showing a lot of resilience right now and we just have to keep working and playing hard, we just hope it pays off.” Cappie has full faith in her team saying, “As long as everyone can keep playing the way we are right now, I don’t see anyone that can beat us.”