New York, NY (AHN) - Becky Hammon made her former employers pay dearly for trading away the gifted point guard prior to the start of this season.

Hammon, who played for the New York Liberty for eight seasons, scored 19 points in her very first game back at Madison Square Garden, to lead her new team, the San Antonio Silver Stars, to a solid 70-63 victory over the Liberty on Friday night.

Traded to the Silver Stars on draft-day this past April, Hammon sealed the game by nailing four pressure-packed free throws in the final minutes of the fourth quarter

to help San Antonio to its third consecutive win.

Another former Liberty player also helped to burn the team. Vickie Johnson, a teammate of Hammon's every year of her career except last season, when she was traded prior to the start of the 2006 season, Johnson chipped in 14 points to support Hammon's offensive outburst.

The Liberty, losers of five of their last seven games, were led by Ashley Battle who scored 17 points.

The Silver Stars fought back furiously after trailing the Liberty by as many as 16 points in the second quarter.

San Antonio took its first lead of the game, going up 59-57, with just under six minutes remaining. The Silver Stars finished off their opponents using an 8-1 run that put them up 67-61 with less than 30 seconds left.