New York Liberty News

Home

Quizzes

Newsletter

Epiphanny Prince of the New York Liberty handles the ball against the Washington Mystics on July 5, 2018, at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images

Three questions with Epiphanny Prince: Grit made in Brooklyn

By Lindsay Gibbs | Last updated 7/18/18

Epiphanny Prince has been through it all. The 30-year-old New York Liberty guard, who once scored a record 113 points in a high school game, was the fourth overall pick in the 2010 WNBA Draft. Since then, she's had extreme highs — including two All-Star appearances in 2011 and 2013 — and extreme lows, such as the torn ACL in late 2015 that kept her out for most of the 2016 season.

Prince caught up with Yardbarker to talk about the Liberty's slow (7-15) start to the season, how she keeps her competitive spirit in tact and her favorite collector's item.

The Liberty won 22 games last season, but this year has clearly not started the way you all have envisioned. Right now, over halfway through the season, you're on the outside of the playoff race looking in. How does this team stay motivated during the tough times?

We’re all competitive, that’s just our nature, and we like to win. We don’t like the feeling of losing. And we know we have the potential to be one of the top teams in the league, it's just taking us longer than usual to put it together. But when you look at the standings, we can still sneak into the playoffs, and that’s what’s keeping us going. We want to make the playoffs, because once you make the playoffs, it’s anyone’s game. Top seeds can always get eliminated in the first round. We know it doesn’t matter what seed you get once you get in there, as long as you get in there. So that’s what we’re trying to do.

We still haven’t hit our peak as a team; we still haven’t hit our best ability as a team, so I think once we’re able to put everything together, that we’ll not only be competitive, but we’ll be able to end some games.

No matter what happens in your career, you always seem to fight back. After starting this season missing eight games because of a concussion and then struggling upon your return, you've found your form lately and scored in double digits in six of the last nine games. Where does your grit come from?

I think my grit comes from growing up in Brooklyn. Everybody thinks there’s no way out to make it, and just what I had to go through as a kid, what I witnessed as a kid, growing up in my neighborhood — there’s nothing I really haven’t seen, and it helps make me who I am. I never get too high, never get too low, just stay humble and grateful.

But I don’t think I’m proud of anything I’ve done yet. The goal is for us to win, and I think I’m part of that, and because we haven’t been doing that I can do more. I need to be more consistent.

You don't always have to check out Epiphanny Prince's Instagram for her latest style. She's a sneakerhead with plenty of kicks for the court. Check out Prince's sneakers against the Washington Mystics on June 28, 2018. Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images

I was very glad to see that you recently recovered your Instagram account after you were hacked, because you're one of my favorite athletes to follow — particularly because of your sneaker collection. What's your favorite new addition to your collection?

I mean, right now I’ve got a lot of new additions. Just being a Nike athlete, they take care of me pretty well. I was able to get my hands on a couple of Nike OFF-WHITE collabs, and it’s just one of the toughest collabs to get your hands on at the moment, so I’m happy about that.

I like Instagram, because people don’t really get to know me and stuff, so it's just me posting about my everyday life, my personal life and things I like to do off the court.