Last-second shot beats Liberty in Game 1

INDIANAPOLIS -- After clawing back from 15 points down, the Liberty needed one more stop. It couldn't get it.

With 1.5 seconds left, point guard Erin Phillips pulled up for an off-balance jump shot from about 15 feet over Essence Carson to give the Indiana Fever a 74-72 win in Game 1 of the WNBA's Eastern Conference semifinals Thursday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Kia Vaughn capped the Liberty's comeback with two free throws to tie it at 72 with 50.7 seconds left. A miss by Indiana's Katie Douglas (25 points) and a turnover by Cappie Pondexter put the ball in Phillips' hands.

Pondexter missed a three-pointer from beyond the top of the key as time expired.

"It would have made it a great night had we battled back and won the game," coach John Whisenant said. "We didn't make our free throws and didn't score on the repossession of the ball. That could've been huge for us."

Carson missed two foul shots after Indiana was called for a clear-path foul with 2:11 left and the Liberty down 71-70.

After trailing by 15 in the first half, the Liberty used back-to-back three-pointers by Leilani Mitchell and Nicole Powell to spark an 8-0 run, narrowing a 12-point deficit to four with 5:09 left in the third. Three minutes later, Quanitra Hollingsworth hit consecutive layups to bring the Liberty within two.

Whisenant credited the Liberty's sluggish start to a "funky" defense used by the Fever. It used a hybrid of zone and man, at times playing a triangle-and-two. It threw the Liberty at first, Whisenant said.

"You don't really have a set game offense for it because it's not a normal defense," he said. "That's why we have to defend. In the first quarter we gave up 28 points."

Pondexter's 18 points led the Liberty, which will host Game 2 of the best-of-three series Saturday.