New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Plenette Pierson scored 15 points to lead the New York Liberty to a 73-61 victory over the Indiana Fever in the season finale for both teams on Sunday.
Anna Cruz netted 10 points and Swin Cash had six points and six assists for the Liberty (15-19), who snapped a five-game losing streak to the Fever, but will miss the playoffs for the second straight season.
Rookie Maggie Lucas scored a game-high 17 points and Shavonte Zellous supplied 11 points for Indiana (16-18), which will open the postseason with home-court advantage as the No. 2 seed against Washington.
The Liberty jumped out to an 8-2 lead on four points from Cruz and ended the opening quarter with a 22-12 advantage.
A 10-3 burst helped the Fever get within two after Marissa Coleman's trey made it a 26-24 game less than three minutes into the second period. The Liberty took a 36-32 edge into the half.
Indiana trailed by one, 42-41, after Sydney Carter made two free throws with under five minutes to play in the third, but the Liberty held on for 53-46 lead going into the final frame and led the rest of the way.
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