Liberty Legend Breaks WNBA Record in Brooklyn

Former New York Liberty star Tina Charles set the WNBA's all-time rebounding record on familiar ground.

Apr 21, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury center Tina Charles talks to the press at Verizon 5G Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Cheryl Evans/The Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK / The Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

BROOKLYN-New York Liberty fans once again cheered a Tina Charles rebound on Thursday night at Barclays Center.

With her third rebound in a Thursday night game at Barclays Center, former New Yorker Tina Charles became the WNBA's all-time leader in boards, ending the first half of the showdown with the Liberty with 4,013 in her career. She passes Sylvia Fowles for the most in Association history and wasted no time in protecting her title

Thus continues a brilliant return to the WNBA hardwood for Charles, a Queens native who did not partake in the league's 2023 campaign. Charles burst onto the national scene at Christ the King High School in Queens and later a pair of national championships at the University of Connecticut.

Charles played six seasons (2014-19) with the Liberty before she was traded to Washington in 2020. She remains the franchise's all-time leading scorer (3,739) and rebounder (1,723), two of several top marks that she continues to hold in New York.

"This is where everything started for me, born and raised, played in every corner of New York," Charles said prior to a June showdown between New York and Atlanta. "It's great, just more so for the people who helped me reach this level that I'm at in my career, family, friends, coaches, teammates. I'm really blessed, really fortunate."

Charles break another mark she holds with Fowles later in Thursday's game: after earning eight points and nine rebounds over the first 20, Charles will set yet another WNBA record with her 195th double-double.

Atlanta leads New York 43-30 at halftime. With a win, Charles and the Dream will clinch the eighth and final spot on the WNBA playoff bracket and set a first-round series with the top ranked Liberty, one set to begin on Sunday.

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