NEW YORK – Cappie Pondexter scored 24 points, including the 3,000th of her career, to lead the New York Liberty to a 71-67 victory against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday.
Pondexter reached the milestone in 154 games, the second-fewest in WNBA history. She also propelled the Liberty to a win in a game that came down to the final minute. She hit three free throws in the final minute to give the Liberty a 70-67 lead.
Pondexter reached 3,000 points with less than 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter, while she gave the Liberty a four-point lead.
Leilani Mitchell added 15 points to help New York (14-11) win for the fifth time in six games and move three games above .500 for the first time this season. The Liberty also took over sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference and remained one game behind Washington.
Asjha Jones scored 18 points to led the Sun (13-12). Renee Montgomery had 20 and rookie Tina Charles added 12 points and 10 rebounds for her league-leading 16th double-double of the season.
Liberty forward Janel McCarville made a layup to give the Liberty a 67-65 lead with 1:38 remaining.
Charles, a New York native, tied the score 15 seconds later with two free throws, but the Sun didn't score again.
Pondexter was fouled by Jones with 38.7 seconds remaining and made both free throws to put the Liberty ahead for good. She added one more 18 seconds later to increase the lead to 70-67.
Mitchell's layup gave the Liberty a 58-56 lead with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter. It was New York's first lead in more than 6 minutes.
Pondexter hit a 3-pointer to give the Liberty a 65-63 lead with 3:37 to go. Montgomery tied the score with two free throws nearly a minute later.
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