MANHATTAN — Cappie Pondexter was just as good as advertised, scoring 22 points and adding eight assists to lead the New York Liberty to an 85-82 win in their season opener at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Pondexter, a three-time All-Star, joined the Liberty in the offseason after demanding a trade to New York from the defending WNBA champion Phoenix.
"We have to learn when we have a team down to put our foot on their throat," Pondexter told the Daily News. "We let up our intensity when we were up 16, but we've only had all 11 of us practicing together for three days. We'll get it."
The Liberty traded Shameka Christon and Cathrine Kraayeveld as part of a three-team deal with Chicago and Phoenix in order to obtain Pondexter, who went to college at Rutgers.
Christon and Kraayveld scored 10 and 11 points, respectively for the Sky. The two former Liberty players were honored before the game with a video tribute and an ovation from the announced crowd of 12,088.
Taj McWilliams-Franklin, New York's 39-year-old center, added 20 points and four rebounds for the Liberty.
Sky rookie guard and former Rutgers star Epiphanny Prince, who won four PSAL titles at the Garden with Murry Bergtraum, finished with three points in 16 minutes of action in her first WNBA game.