NEW YORK - Jessica Davenport converted a three-point play with 6.9 seconds remaining, lifting the New York Liberty past the Phoenix Mercury, 83-82, at Madison Square Garden before 8,535 fans Sunday afternoon. The Liberty (4-0) are off to their best start since winning their first seven to open the WNBA’s inaugural 1997 season.

The rookie center, who scored nine of her 15 points in the fourth quarter, was fouled by Cappie Pondexter after banking in a 10-foot shot following an inbounds play on New York’s last possession.

“I noticed I had her on me,” said Davenport, the league’s No. 2 pick. “There’s a big height difference and I was able shoot over her. [Hitting the game-winning shot] was great, especially here in the Garden. I could feel the energy.”

Phoenix had opened with an 11-0 run, and led for the entire first half. But, Shameka Christon connected for a three-pointer –her first basket of the game- to produce a 49-48 New York advantage at the 7:38 mark of the third quarter.

Loree Moore led all scorers with a career-high 22, while tying her previous best of nine rebounds. “This is the best she’s played since she’s been here,” Liberty coach Pat Coyle praised. “I left her alone tonight. If she needed a call, she looked at me. Otherwise, she made the call. I have that much confidence in her to run this team.”

Catherine Kraayeveld added a double-double, finishing with 13 boards and 10 points. Tiffany Jackson, the No. 5 pick, tallied seven points, six rebounds and five assists in 16 minutes of action. Sherill Baker, in her first appearance of the season, contributed five off the bench.

Pondexter, with a team-high 19, missed a three-pointer from the top of the key in the final seconds. New York’s Ashley Battle grabbed the rebound, and held on as the clock ran out. Diana Taurasi scored 11 points in the first quarter, but only managed five the rest of the way.

“You can’t dwell on a loss,” the former UConn great shrugged. “We have tremendous confidence in whoever has the ball at the end of the game. It ended up in Cappie’s hands and she took a good shot. It just didn’t go in.”

“It’s tough to lose a one-possession game, being up two with (10) seconds left,” added Paul Westhead, the Mercury coach. “I thought our big scorers played well with a bunch of fouls, but we were forced to keep switching defenses.”

The loss was the second in two days for Phoenix, who were bested by the Connecticut Sun, 76-67, on Saturday.

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