A lengthy residency at Madison Square Garden didn't go as smoothly as the New York Liberty would've liked, but they head to the Pacific Northwest with a renewed confidence after closing the homestand with their largest victory in six years.
The Liberty begin a road-heavy stretch Sunday night seeking a seventh straight win over a Seattle Storm team that's coming off a victory behind another big game from Jewell Loyd.
After going 12-5 at MSG last season en route to the Eastern Conference regular-season crown, an early five-game homestand figured to give New York (3-3) a golden opportunity to pad its record. It didn't work out that way as the Liberty followed a win over Dallas in their home opener with three straight defeats.
They managed to get back on track in a big way, crushing Indiana 91-59 on Friday in a conference finals rematch.
''We definitely needed this one,'' said Tina Charles, who had 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists. ''After letting a few get away this was one we wanted to have.''
New York dominated the Fever from both the inside and outside, holding a 40-18 scoring advantage in the paint while going 10 of 17 from 3-point range in their most lopsided victory since beating Phoenix by 38 in August 2010.
Sugar Rodgers made five 3-pointers and scored 21 and Swin Cash had nine points to go with five rebounds in her first start since signing with New York on May 24.
The Liberty now play three straight and six of seven on the road.
They've won six in a row over the Storm (3-4) since an 84-66 road loss in August 2012. Charles combined for 59 points in last season's two meetings.
Loyd was a non-factor in the 2015 series, totaling nine points on 2-of-9 shooting with seven turnovers, but has been the driving force behind Seattle's success in 2016.
She had career highs of 32 points and nine rebounds in Friday's 95-81 home win over Phoenix, while Breanna Stewart added 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
In Seattle's wins, Loyd is averaging 29.3 points and shooting 60 percent - including 10 of 18 from 3-point range - but has averaged 13.5 points while missing 12 of 13 3-point tries in the defeats.
The Storm, who have totaled 188 points in winning two straight home games, are one of the league's top 3-point shooting teams at 37.7 percent while the Liberty are among the worst at 25.9.
