2002 New York Liberty season

WNBA team season

2002 New York Liberty season
Coach	Richie Adubato
Arena	Madison Square Garden
Attendance	14,670 per game
Results
Record	18–14 (.563)
Place	1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost WNBA Finals (2-0) to Los Angeles Sparks
Media
Television	WPIX (WB 11) MSG Network
← 2001 season 2003 season →

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

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

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From	Yrs
C	42	Cooper, Camille	6' 4" (1.93m)	–	1979-02-05	Purdue	1
F/C	31	Fröhlich, Linda	6' 2" (1.88m)	185 lb (84kg)	1979-06-23	UNLV	R
G	25	Hammon, Becky	5' 6" (1.68m)	136 lb (62kg)	1977-03-11	Colorado State	3
G	7	Hlede, Korie	5' 9" (1.75m)	155 lb (70kg)	1975-03-29	Duquesne	4
G/F	55	Johnson, Vickie	5' 9" (1.75m)	150 lb (68kg)	1972-04-15	Louisiana Tech	5
C	50	Ngoyisa, Bernadette	6' 4" (1.93m)	195 lb (88kg)	1982-08-26		R
F/C	24	Phillips, Tari	6' 2" (1.88m)	200 lb (91kg)	1970-03-06	Central Florida	3
F	3	Robinson, Crystal	5' 11" (1.8m)	155 lb (70kg)	1974-01-22	SE Oklahoma State	3
G	11	Weatherspoon, Teresa	5' 8" (1.73m)	161 lb (73kg)	1965-12-08	Louisiana Tech	5
F	44	Whitmore, Tamika	6' 2" (1.88m)	215 lb (98kg)	1977-06-05	Memphis	3
F	23	Wicks, Sue	6' 3" (1.91m)	174 lb (79kg)	1966-11-26	Rutgers	5

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

Legend

(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(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	18	14	.563	11–10	–
Charlotte Sting	18	14	.563	12–9	–
Washington Mystics	17	15	.531	12–9	1.0
Indiana Fever	16	16	.500	12–9	2.0
Orlando Miracle	16	16	.500	13–8	2.0
Miami Sol	15	17	.469	11–10	3.0
Cleveland Rockers	10	22	.312	7–14	8.0
Detroit Shock	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

^ "2002 New York Liberty Transactions". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 6, 2024.

New York Liberty

Founded in 1997
Based in Brooklyn, New York

Franchise

Arenas

Head coaches

Administration

Owner: Joseph Tsai
General Managers: Carol Blazejowski; John Whisenant; Bill Laimbeer; Kristin Bernert; Jonathan Kolb

WNBA All-Stars

Seasons

Playoff appearances

Conference Championships /
Finals appearances

WNBA Championships

2024

Rivals

Media

TV:	YES Network
Announcers:	Chris Shearn Michael Grady Julianne Viani

v t e 2002 WNBA season by team
Draft All-Star Game Playoffs Finals
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
← 2001 WNBA season 2003 →

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