2009 New York Liberty season
Encyclopedia
The 2009 WNBA season
2009 WNBA season
The 2009 WNBA Season is the 13th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It is the first WNBA season ever without a Houston franchise, the Comets having folded in December 2008...

 is the 13th season for the New York Liberty
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...

 franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

. The Liberty attempted to advance to the WNBA Playoffs
WNBA Playoffs
The WNBA Playoffs is a best-of-three elimination tournament between eight teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association , ultimately deciding the final two teams who will play in the WNBA Finals....

 for the tenth time in thirteen seasons, but failed.

Dispersal Draft

Based on the Liberty's 2008 record, they would pick 8th in the Houston Comets
Houston Comets
The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...

 dispersal draft
Dispersal draft
A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team goes out of business, consolidates with another team, or for some other reason ceases to exist. Since most sports drafts are held in North America, this is where most dispersal drafts...

. The Liberty waived their pick.

WNBA Draft

The following are the Liberty's selections in the 2009 WNBA Draft
2009 WNBA Draft
The 2009 WNBA Draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 9, 2009. The first round was shown on ESPN2 at 3:00pm ET, while the second and third rounds were shown on ESPNU and NBA TV at...

.

Transactions

  • June 4: The Liberty waived Jessica Davenport and Lisa Willis.
  • May 29: The Liberty waived Abby Waner.
  • May 5: The Liberty acquired Sidney Spencer from the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for a first round 2010 WNBA Draft pick.
  • January 12: The Liberty re-signed free agent Cathrine Kraayeveld.
  • May 7, 2008: The Liberty traded their third-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the Phoenix Mercury as part of the Leilani Mitchell transaction.



Additions

{| cellspacing="0"
| valign="top" |
{|class="navbox wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:140px"|Player
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:100px"|Signed
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:210px"|Former team
|- style="height:40px"
| Cathrine Kraayeveld
Cathrine Kraayeveld
Cathrine Helene Kraayeveld is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA. Her father, Dave, played football for the Seattle Seahawks in 1978.-High school and college:...

|| January 12, 2009 || re-signed
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...


|- style="height:40px"
| Sidney Spencer
Sidney Spencer
Sidney Spencer is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.Sidney attended the University of Tennessee, and in April 2007 led the team to the national championship. That same month, she was selected in the 2nd round of the WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks...

|| May 5, 2009 || Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...


|}

Subtractions

{|class="navbox wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:140px"|Player
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:100px"|Left
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:210px"|New team
|- style="height:40px"
| Erin Thorn
Erin Thorn
Erin Thorn is an American professional basketball player. She is currently playing for Tarbes GB in Tarbes, France.- Brigham Young University :...

|| January 7, 2009 || Chicago Sky
Chicago Sky
The Chicago Sky is a professional basketball team based in Rosemont, Illinois, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2006 WNBA season began. The team is owned by Michael J. Alter and Margaret Stender...


|- style="height:40px"
| Abby Waner|| May 29, 2009 || free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....


|- style="height:40px"
| Jessica Davenport
Jessica Davenport
Jessica Davenport, born June 24, 1985, is a reserve center for the WNBA's Indiana Fever. She previously played for The Ohio State University's women's basketball team.-High school:...

|| June 4, 2009 || free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....


|- style="height:40px"
| Lisa Willis
Lisa Willis
Lisa Willis is a professional basketball player in the WNBA, most recently playing for the Los Angeles Sparks.Willis attended college at UCLA and graduated in 2006. Following her collegiate career, she was selected 5th overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks...

|| June 4, 2009 || free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....


|}

Roster

Season standings

x =Clinched Playoff Spot

e =Eliminated from playoff contention

Preseason

{| class="toccolours" width=90% style="clear:both; margin:1.5em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan=2 style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF" | 2009 Game Log: Preseason
|- valign="top"
|
The 2009 WNBA season
2009 WNBA season
The 2009 WNBA Season is the 13th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It is the first WNBA season ever without a Houston franchise, the Comets having folded in December 2008...

 is the 13th season for the New York Liberty
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...

 franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

. The Liberty attempted to advance to the WNBA Playoffs
WNBA Playoffs
The WNBA Playoffs is a best-of-three elimination tournament between eight teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association , ultimately deciding the final two teams who will play in the WNBA Finals....

 for the tenth time in thirteen seasons, but failed.

Dispersal Draft

Based on the Liberty's 2008 record, they would pick 8th in the Houston Comets
Houston Comets
The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...

 dispersal draft
Dispersal draft
A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team goes out of business, consolidates with another team, or for some other reason ceases to exist. Since most sports drafts are held in North America, this is where most dispersal drafts...

. The Liberty waived their pick.

WNBA Draft

The following are the Liberty's selections in the 2009 WNBA Draft
2009 WNBA Draft
The 2009 WNBA Draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 9, 2009. The first round was shown on ESPN2 at 3:00pm ET, while the second and third rounds were shown on ESPNU and NBA TV at...

.
{| class="navbox wikitable"
! style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF;" width="2%"| Round
! style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF;" width="5%"| Pick
! style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF;" width="10%"| Player
! style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF;" width="10%"| Nationality
! style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF;" width="10%"| School/Team/Country
|-
| 1
| 8
| Kia Vaughn
Kia Vaughn
Kia Vaughn is a professional women's basketball player for the WNBA's New York Liberty. She attended high school at St. Michael's All Girls High School in New York, and later went on to star at Rutgers University....


|
| Rutgers
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...


|-
| 2
| 21
| Abby Waner
|
| Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...


|-
|}

Transactions

  • June 4: The Liberty waived Jessica Davenport and Lisa Willis.
  • May 29: The Liberty waived Abby Waner.
  • May 5: The Liberty acquired Sidney Spencer from the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for a first round 2010 WNBA Draft pick.
  • January 12: The Liberty re-signed free agent Cathrine Kraayeveld.
  • May 7, 2008: The Liberty traded their third-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the Phoenix Mercury as part of the Leilani Mitchell transaction.

{| class="navbox wikitable" style="width:80%"
! style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width=200"|Date
! style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF;" colspan=2|Trade
|-
| rowspan=2|May 7, 2008
| width=400|To New York Liberty
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...


| width=400|To Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix Mercury
The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...


|-
| Leilani Mitchell
Leilani Mitchell
Leilani Mitchell is an American basketball player in the WNBA for the New York Liberty.Mitchell was born to an American father, Dennis Mitchell, and an Australian mother of Asian descent , Eleanor Majid...


| third-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft
|-
| rowspan=2|May 5, 2009
| width=400|To New York Liberty
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...


| width=400|To Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...


|-
| Sidney Spencer
Sidney Spencer
Sidney Spencer is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.Sidney attended the University of Tennessee, and in April 2007 led the team to the national championship. That same month, she was selected in the 2nd round of the WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks...


| first-round pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft
|}

Additions

{| cellspacing="0"
| valign="top" |
{|class="navbox wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:140px"|Player
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:100px"|Signed
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:210px"|Former team
|- style="height:40px"
| Cathrine Kraayeveld
Cathrine Kraayeveld
Cathrine Helene Kraayeveld is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA. Her father, Dave, played football for the Seattle Seahawks in 1978.-High school and college:...

|| January 12, 2009 || re-signed
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...


|- style="height:40px"
| Sidney Spencer
Sidney Spencer
Sidney Spencer is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.Sidney attended the University of Tennessee, and in April 2007 led the team to the national championship. That same month, she was selected in the 2nd round of the WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks...

|| May 5, 2009 || Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...


|}

Subtractions

{|class="navbox wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:140px"|Player
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:100px"|Left
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:210px"|New team
|- style="height:40px"
| Erin Thorn
Erin Thorn
Erin Thorn is an American professional basketball player. She is currently playing for Tarbes GB in Tarbes, France.- Brigham Young University :...

|| January 7, 2009 || Chicago Sky
Chicago Sky
The Chicago Sky is a professional basketball team based in Rosemont, Illinois, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2006 WNBA season began. The team is owned by Michael J. Alter and Margaret Stender...


|- style="height:40px"
| Abby Waner|| May 29, 2009 || free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....


|- style="height:40px"
| Jessica Davenport
Jessica Davenport
Jessica Davenport, born June 24, 1985, is a reserve center for the WNBA's Indiana Fever. She previously played for The Ohio State University's women's basketball team.-High school:...

|| June 4, 2009 || free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....


|- style="height:40px"
| Lisa Willis
Lisa Willis
Lisa Willis is a professional basketball player in the WNBA, most recently playing for the Los Angeles Sparks.Willis attended college at UCLA and graduated in 2006. Following her collegiate career, she was selected 5th overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks...

|| June 4, 2009 || free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....


|}

Roster

Season standings

x =Clinched Playoff Spot

e =Eliminated from playoff contention

Preseason

{| class="toccolours" width=90% style="clear:both; margin:1.5em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan=2 style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF" | 2009 Game Log: Preseason
|- valign="top"
|
The 2009 WNBA season
2009 WNBA season
The 2009 WNBA Season is the 13th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. It is the first WNBA season ever without a Houston franchise, the Comets having folded in December 2008...

 is the 13th season for the New York Liberty
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...

 franchise of the Women's National Basketball Association
Women's National Basketball Association
The Women's National Basketball Association is a women's professional basketball league in the United States. It currently is composed of twelve teams. The league was founded on April 24, 1996 as the women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association...

. The Liberty attempted to advance to the WNBA Playoffs
WNBA Playoffs
The WNBA Playoffs is a best-of-three elimination tournament between eight teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association , ultimately deciding the final two teams who will play in the WNBA Finals....

 for the tenth time in thirteen seasons, but failed.

Dispersal Draft

Based on the Liberty's 2008 record, they would pick 8th in the Houston Comets
Houston Comets
The Houston Comets were a Women's National Basketball Association team based in Houston, Texas, United States. Formed in 1997, the team was one of the best original eight WNBA teams and won the first four championships of the league's existence. The Comets were the first dynasty of the WNBA and...

 dispersal draft
Dispersal draft
A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team goes out of business, consolidates with another team, or for some other reason ceases to exist. Since most sports drafts are held in North America, this is where most dispersal drafts...

. The Liberty waived their pick.

WNBA Draft

The following are the Liberty's selections in the 2009 WNBA Draft
2009 WNBA Draft
The 2009 WNBA Draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 9, 2009. The first round was shown on ESPN2 at 3:00pm ET, while the second and third rounds were shown on ESPNU and NBA TV at...

.
{| class="navbox wikitable"
! style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF;" width="2%"| Round
! style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF;" width="5%"| Pick
! style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF;" width="10%"| Player
! style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF;" width="10%"| Nationality
! style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF;" width="10%"| School/Team/Country
|-
| 1
| 8
| Kia Vaughn
Kia Vaughn
Kia Vaughn is a professional women's basketball player for the WNBA's New York Liberty. She attended high school at St. Michael's All Girls High School in New York, and later went on to star at Rutgers University....


|
| Rutgers
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...


|-
| 2
| 21
| Abby Waner
|
| Duke
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...


|-
|}

Transactions

  • June 4: The Liberty waived Jessica Davenport and Lisa Willis.
  • May 29: The Liberty waived Abby Waner.
  • May 5: The Liberty acquired Sidney Spencer from the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for a first round 2010 WNBA Draft pick.
  • January 12: The Liberty re-signed free agent Cathrine Kraayeveld.
  • May 7, 2008: The Liberty traded their third-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft to the Phoenix Mercury as part of the Leilani Mitchell transaction.

{| class="navbox wikitable" style="width:80%"
! style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width=200"|Date
! style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF;" colspan=2|Trade
|-
| rowspan=2|May 7, 2008
| width=400|To New York Liberty
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...


| width=400|To Phoenix Mercury
Phoenix Mercury
The Phoenix Mercury is a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began; it is one of the eight original franchises...


|-
| Leilani Mitchell
Leilani Mitchell
Leilani Mitchell is an American basketball player in the WNBA for the New York Liberty.Mitchell was born to an American father, Dennis Mitchell, and an Australian mother of Asian descent , Eleanor Majid...


| third-round pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft
|-
| rowspan=2|May 5, 2009
| width=400|To New York Liberty
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...


| width=400|To Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...


|-
| Sidney Spencer
Sidney Spencer
Sidney Spencer is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.Sidney attended the University of Tennessee, and in April 2007 led the team to the national championship. That same month, she was selected in the 2nd round of the WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks...


| first-round pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft
|}

Additions

{| cellspacing="0"
| valign="top" |
{|class="navbox wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:140px"|Player
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:100px"|Signed
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:210px"|Former team
|- style="height:40px"
| Cathrine Kraayeveld
Cathrine Kraayeveld
Cathrine Helene Kraayeveld is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Chicago Sky in the WNBA. Her father, Dave, played football for the Seattle Seahawks in 1978.-High school and college:...

|| January 12, 2009 || re-signed
New York Liberty
The New York Liberty is a professional basketball team based in New York City, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was one of the eight original franchises of the league...


|- style="height:40px"
| Sidney Spencer
Sidney Spencer
Sidney Spencer is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA.Sidney attended the University of Tennessee, and in April 2007 led the team to the national championship. That same month, she was selected in the 2nd round of the WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks...

|| May 5, 2009 || Los Angeles Sparks
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks is a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began...


|}

Subtractions

{|class="navbox wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|- align="center" bgcolor="#dddddd"
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:140px"|Player
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:100px"|Left
| style="background:#0047AB;color:#FFFFFF; width:210px"|New team
|- style="height:40px"
| Erin Thorn
Erin Thorn
Erin Thorn is an American professional basketball player. She is currently playing for Tarbes GB in Tarbes, France.- Brigham Young University :...

|| January 7, 2009 || Chicago Sky
Chicago Sky
The Chicago Sky is a professional basketball team based in Rosemont, Illinois, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association . The team was founded before the 2006 WNBA season began. The team is owned by Michael J. Alter and Margaret Stender...


|- style="height:40px"
| Abby Waner|| May 29, 2009 || free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....


|- style="height:40px"
| Jessica Davenport
Jessica Davenport
Jessica Davenport, born June 24, 1985, is a reserve center for the WNBA's Indiana Fever. She previously played for The Ohio State University's women's basketball team.-High school:...

|| June 4, 2009 || free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....


|- style="height:40px"
| Lisa Willis
Lisa Willis
Lisa Willis is a professional basketball player in the WNBA, most recently playing for the Los Angeles Sparks.Willis attended college at UCLA and graduated in 2006. Following her collegiate career, she was selected 5th overall in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Los Angeles Sparks...

|| June 4, 2009 || free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....


|}

Roster

Season standings

x =Clinched Playoff Spot

e =Eliminated from playoff contention

Preseason

{| class="toccolours" width=90% style="clear:both; margin:1.5em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan=2 style="background:#0047AB; color:#FFFFFF" | 2009 Game Log: Preseason
|- valign="top"
|
 
x
OK