NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Becky Hammon and Vickie Johnson combined for 12 points during a second-half burst as the defending Eastern Conference champion New York Liberty posted their first win of the season, 87-76 over the Utah Starzz.

Hammon scored a career-high 23 points, including a layup with 8:15 remaining that capped a 16-4 run and gave the Liberty a 68-53 lead. The Starzz got no closer than 11 points the rest of the way.

Johnson's six points came on a pair of shots from beyond the arc, including a huge basket that pushed New York's advantage to 55-49 at the 12-minute mark.

"That was the critical shot," said Liberty coach Richie Adubato. "We were floundering on offense and the momentum had changed. Vicky's 3 gave us relief and got the crowd back into the game, because for about four or five minutes, we were not executing our offense."

Johnson finished with 19 points and Tamika Whitmore contributed 10 for the Liberty, who avoided their second 0-3 start in three seasons and won their fourth straight game over the Starzz. The teams were meeting for the only time this season.

"The first two games were very slow for me," said Johnson. "I went back and looked at the shots I missed and I missed six or seven layups. So I just knew I had to focus in."

"We gained an advantage because they traveled all day yesterday, so we felt we could get at them early and play an up-tempo game," Adubato added.

Adrienne Goodson scored 21 points, Natalie Williams 18 and rookie Stacy Frese 11, but the Starzz were unable to overcome 18 turnovers that led to 27 points for the Liberty. New York committed just 13 turnovers and Teresa Weatherspoon dished out seven assists.

"I just think we didn't play our game today," said Williams. "We came in and didn't run our offense. I felt great today. I though we had enough rest and should have come out and played real hard."

Tari Phillips' seven rebounds helped New York build a 31-29 advantage on the boards.

Goodson grabbed 10 rebounds for Utah, which shot 46 percent (31-of-68) from the field but was outscored at the foul line by a whopping 35-9 margin.

The Liberty took the lead for good on Shea Mahoney's driving layup that made it 10-8 with just under 14 minutes remaining in the first half. They held a 46-37 advantage at the break behind 10 points apiece from Hammon and Johnson.

Hammon's previous career high was 16 points against Cleveland on August 19, 1999.

"We needed that, not just for confidence but to get on a winning streak," Hammon said. "We jumped in the press, we got all over them and we got in their face for 40 minutes."