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Pondexter leads Liberty over Silver Stars

May 29, 2010 - 6:09 PM SAN ANTONIO(AP) -- Cappie Pondexter scored 21 points and the New York Liberty never trailed in their 77-71 victory over the San Antonio Silver Stars on Friday night.

Nicole Powell, who hit a key 3-pointer and a free throw in the final minute, scored 15 points and Janel McCarville had 13 for the Liberty (2-2), who never led by more than 10 points.

"When you're playing well and you're on the road and you're competing, if you do something well you've got to have fun with it," said Pondexter, who had seven assists and six rebounds. "We really needed it."

San Antonio (2-2) did not get a point from its guards until Becky Hammon hit a jumper 46 seconds into the second half.

Sophia Young led the Silver Stars with 17 points, while Chamique Holdsclaw added 16 on 6-of-15 shooting and Hammon finished with 15.

Powell and McCarville had seven rebounds apiece for New York, which outrebounded San Antonio 49-29 and had 20 second-chance points on 15 offensive rebounds.

"We're 2-2 we won a finesse game (over Chicago in the opener) and we won a physical game," McCarville said. "I think I shied away from some shots early in the game, and Coach (Anne Donovan) really talked about how my team needed me to life my shot a little more."

San Antonio, which missed 13 of its first 16 shots, got as close as two points late in the game. The Silver Stars trailed 72-69 when Roneeka Hodges missed a tying 3-point attempt with less than a minute left.

"The thing is, we were still in the game and we really didn't play so well at all," Silver Stars coach Sandy Brondello said. "Defense is going to create our offense, and it really didn't do that tonight."