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Liberty lose to Connecticut and a spot in the playoffs

It’s been a disappointing year for the Liberty after making it all the way to the eastern conference finals a season ago. After losing the first 3 games of the season, the Liberty was never able to regain its footing, barely rising above last place in the east.

 

Many factors contributed to the team’s poor performance which starts at the very top. General Manager Carol Blazejowski’s inability to make the right roster moves in the offseason gave very little for former head coach Pat Coyle to work with. Coyle is also partly to blame. Under her tutelage the team’s offense was stagnant, the post presence was atrocious, and the Liberty had difficulty rotating on defense. Coyle was fired after the Liberty posted a 6-11 record. Ann Donovan took over the head coaching reigns, and even though New York couldn’t regain its footing, the team’s performance improved. There was more production from the post players and the defense looked more cohesive. However, there were still glaring problems that New York couldn’t overcome such as rebounding, offensive movement, and help-side defense. It will be interesting to see if Ann Donovan remains head coach next year. She did coach the Seattle Storm to a championship in 2005 and team USA to a gold medal in 2008. Give Donovan a full year to see if she can turn the Liberty around.  There also has to be some major roster changes, because without it, there is little hope that the Liberty will make it into the post season in 2010.