NEW YORK -- New York guard Becky Hammon will miss the rest of the season after tearing a ligament in her right knee during the first half of the Liberty's loss to the Detroit Shock on Friday night.

Hammon, who leads the Liberty with 16.2 points per game, tore the anterior cruciate ligament during a fast break just 12 seconds after she entered the game. She was taken to Beth Israel Medical Center for an MRI exam, which revealed the injury.

"This is an incredibly bad break for a person who is having an all-star year and who worked so hard in the offseason to become one of the team's best players,'' New York coach Richie Adubato said. "I know she'll persevere and rehab the knee and come back stronger and better.''

Hammon entered with 14:55 left in the first half, and quickly grabbed a rebound and started upcourt on a fastbreak. She stopped and planted her right foot at the Liberty's 3-point line, winced in pain and fell to the floor clutching her right knee. She was helped off the court by Tamika Whitmore and a trainer.

"I just prayed it's not an ACL or anything like that,'' forward Vickie Johnson said before hearing the results of the MRI.

Hammon is New York's most explosive player even though she is not in the starting lineup. She was injured near the same basket where New York Knicks forward Antonio McDyess suffered a season-ending knee injury last season.

Johnson was on the court when former New York forward Rebecca Lobo tore her ACL in 1999. While Lobo has struggled since the knee injury, several WNBA players -- including Tamika Catchings of Indiana and Sheryl Swoopes of Houston -- have come back from it.

"She's a warrior,'' Johnson said of Hammon.