Liberty conclude monster road trip against Sparks

When the Liberty return to New York after their five-game road trip, coach Bill Laimbeer's squad will have traveled just under 6,100 miles since the All-Star break.

A trip that started in St. Paul, Minn., and continued to Indianapolis, Chicago and San Antonio concludes Friday night when the Liberty visit the Los Angeles Sparks at Staples Center.

The Liberty (12-11) are 2-2 on their trek away from Madison Square Garden and are coming off a disheartening loss to San Antonio. The Stars outscored Tina Charles and Co. 28-12 in the fourth quarter to earn only their fourth win of the season, 93-81 on Tuesday.

New York has endured an up-and-down season, and the long road trip is helping the team come closer together.

"I think some teams are able to find their identity early in the season; for others, it takes longer," Charles told ESPN. "The more we're able to see what each of us is able to do, the more we can depend on each other."

And now the Liberty, who remain in the thick of the race for a playoff spot, face off against Candace Parker, Nneka Ogwumike and the Sparks. Los Angeles has the second-best record in the WNBA at 17-6. The Sparks are on a three-game winning streak yet remain three games behind the Minnesota Lynx.

Parker vs. Charles should be a delicious matchup with both being named players of the week in their respective conferences.

Charles, who also was the player of the month for July, was selected player of the week for the 25th time in her eight seasons, extending her record for the most such awards in WNBA history. It was her fourth Eastern Conference player of the week honor this season.

Parker isn't too far behind, having been honored 21 times in her 10 seasons. She recently turned in a historic performance, recording only the sixth triple-double in WNBA history July 28 against the Stars. In Los Angeles' 85-73 victory, she compiled 11 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists as well as four blocks.

The teams are meeting for the second time this season. The Sparks dominated on May 30 as Ogwumike scored 22 points and Parker added 20 in a 90-75 victory at New York. Back then, the Sparks were just trying to find themselves.

"We are focusing on what we can do better as a team and what individual people can do to contribute," Ogwumike said. "There are definitely some things that are a work in progress for us, but we are building off last year in our own way. In some cases, that requires starting from scratch."

With Parker and Ogwumike, the Sparks have the nucleus to make a deep postseason run.

New York has lacked consistency on offense with Charles being the mainstay. Laimbeer thought he solved the team's offensive struggles before the All-Star break taking All-Star Sugar Rodgers out of the starting lineup and bringing her off the bench.

The results have been mixed. Still, Charles, the unquestioned leader, made sure Rodgers' confidence wasn't damaged.

"I've come off the bench to bring energy and scoring and whatever we need," Rodgers said. "Tina thought it was a good idea, and that I was mature enough for that role.

"Not everybody can do it. But she thought it was something I could achieve, and it's working. I'm willing to stick with it and keep going forward."