Liberty falls to Indiana, series tied 1-1

INDIANAPOLIS - The Liberty went on the road looking for a sweep - and now, after losing Game 2, needs to win a deciding game to keep its hopes of winning its first WNBA title alive.

Three nights after rallying from a double-digit deficit in Game 1 of its Eastern Conference semifinal against Indiana, the Liberty faced another first-half deficit last night. This time its second-half rally fell short in the Fever's 75-67 victory in front of 7,535 at Conseco Fieldhouse.

"We just could not put the ball in the hole," Liberty coach Anne Donovan said. "We had how many point-blank layups that we didn't convert? It's a matter of knocking down shots. Unfortunately for us, I thought our poor offensive showing really affected us defensively for three quarters of the game."

The Liberty and Fever meet again in Game 3 Wednesday at the Garden, with the winner facing Atlanta in the Eastern Conference finals. Atlanta swept top-seeded Washington in the other Eastern Conference semifinal.

"Now we get to go back to New York and have World War III," Indiana coach Lin Dunn said.

The Liberty has won nine consecutive home games. "It's disappointing, but that's why we worked for home-court advantage," Donovan said. "We're looking forward to getting back to the Garden and seeing them again."

After setting a Liberty playoff record with 28 points in Game 1, Cappie Pondexter shot 8-for-22 and finished with 24 points. Essence Carson had 20 points and Janel McCarville had 11 rebounds.

"Indiana's defense rattled us," Donovan said. "We never really got into an offensive flow. We are a very good team when we move the ball and pass the ball. They just disrupted our offense."

Tamika Catchings, who was named the league's defensive player of the year earlier in the day, finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds for Indiana.

The Liberty started slowly for the second time in as many games, shooting 20 percent (3-for-15) in the first half. The Liberty rallied quickly in Game 1 to lead by halftime but never seriously threatened this time. The Fever led by 13 after the first quarter and by 64-46 after three.

The Liberty whittled away at a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter. A three-pointer by Leilani Mitchell cut the lead to 70-60 with 2:54 remaining, but the Liberty missed its next three shots and Indiana held on.

"The entire first quarter, we were on our heels," Carson said. "Tonight, Indiana was the better team. They came out really aggressive on both ends of the court. It took us a while to get our feet under us."

Indiana held the Liberty to 36.8 percent shooting.

"We made them work very hard to get good looks," Dunn said. "Any time we can hold them to 36 percent, we're going to have a chance to win."