Pondexter helps Liberty clinch playoff spot

The chant started softly - more like a whisper in the cavernous Garden - but, as Cappie Pondexter stood at the line in the middle of the second half of last night's 107-69 drubbing of the Phoenix Mercury, the crowd made its voice heard: MVP.

Things have changed a bit since the Liberty (19-11) last took on the Mercury. Last time Pondexter took on her former team, she scored 21 points in the first half and slapped Penny Taylor in the face as Taylor went for a layup. Pondexter was ejected, the Liberty lost, and the team's lackluster season continued on a mediocre track.

Hardly an MVP-caliber performance, but precedent has no place with this Liberty team. Last night's win marks the longest winning streak in team history (eight), the most points scored in team history, and clinches a playoff berth for the first time in two years.

The Liberty is only one game behind Indiana in the Eastern Conference standings, and it faces the Fever on Tuesday at the Garden.

It the game against the Mercury last night, Pondexter kept the ball soaring through the net and her hands to herself. She scored a team-high 28 points in a little more than 26 minutes and was subbed out toward the end of the third quarter as the Liberty took a commanding 84-59 lead.

"We played exceptionally well," Pondexter said. "Our focus is absolutely great. We won all four quarters . . . It's great basketball. It was good, it was fun. I'm happy."

But it's not only Pondexter, the team's lone All-Star, who has gotten it together. This is a different team from that game in July, and intent on showing it. Janel McCarville's layup with 2:07 left in the first quarter gave the Liberty a 23-21 lead that never let up. The advantage ballooned to 10 points midway through the second quarter, which ended in a 61-42 lead - thanks in part to shooting 87 percent from the free-throw line.

Nicole Powell had seven three-pointers for the Liberty and finished with 23 points. DeWanna Bonner led the Mercury (14-17) with 20. Diana Taurasi had a season-low five points.

The Mercury scored only eight points in the fourth quarter and shot 37 percent for the game.

The reversal of fortune has left the Liberty locker room a boisterous one, recalling the heady days of the late 1990s. Pondexter said that she tries not to think about the chants of MVP too much.

"I kind of wanted to tell them to be quiet," she said laughing. "I need to focus on the free throw . . . It's still early. There's a lot of basketball left to play. I try not to focus on whether I'll win MVP."

As if the Garden crowd would let her forget.