By LENN ROBBINS
Last updated: 7:27 am
July 20, 2008
Posted: 4:16 am
July 20, 2008
The red digital readout on Academy Tour Bus No. 1718 flashed 4:59 p.m. when the driver shifted into gear and the Liberty began a historic journey.
There was an atmosphere of quiet determination combined with a humbling sense of the importance of the night as the team left the LaGuardia Marriott hotel for the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center and first ever outdoor pro basketball game.
As the bus merged onto the Grand Central Parkway, exited at Northern Boulevard and passed Shea Stadium, the red readout flashed the temperature - 99 degrees.
No one said making history would be easy, and it wasn't.
The Liberty (12-10) never found their outside shooting touch on baskets that seemed suspended from midair and lost 71-55 to the Indiana Fever (11-11) before an announced crowd of 19,393.
The Liberty wanted to remain focused on winning a key Eastern Conference game but distractions were everywhere. A camera crew from MSG television, along with this Post reporter, were on board.
When the bus approached Olmsted Circle, the entrance to the tennis center, streams of Liberty fans - one clad in a No. 4 Janel McCarville jersey, walked side by side with a fan wearing a No.25 Becky Hammon jersey - were heading for the stadium.
The past, the present and the future were headed to Arthur Ashe Stadium.
As the bus approached the team entrance, it passed the Steppers Marching Band from Brooklyn.
"A marching band!" exclaimed one player. "Never had that."
"Drum line," said another player.
Ashley Battle, one of the Liberty players most interested in tennis, was asked to do a quick television interview. When asked what player she'd like have in the background, Battle said, 'Arthur,' in a proud, direct voice.
"Not only was he a great player, he was one of the first great African American tennis players," she said. "He made it possible for so many African American athletes in all sports."
Both teams gathered a center court for a historic picture. The Steppers Marching Band lit it up and then fireworks exploded above the stadium and streaked upward from the court as the Liberty starting lineup was announced.
Finally, at 7:42, ref Daryl Humphrey tossed up the ball and Indiana's Tamika Catchings controlled. After a flurry of turnovers, Catchings hit a 3 for the first basket scored in a pro outdoor game.
The Fever, which lost in triple OT to the Libs three weeks ago, jumped to an 18-8 lead. The Liberty cut it to 33-29 at the half, but a seven-point third quarter made them the losers.
"We let a lot of things get in the way," said Liberty guard Loree Moore. "The wind, the events, the referees. All these different things took a toll on us."
Said forward Shameka Christon: "Tonight we had so much other stuff going through our head."
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Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer was at the game and said she would love for her Scarlet Knights to play a college game in Ashe Stadium.
