NEW YORK -- New York Liberty veteran Vickie Johnson is familiar with tough assignments after playing four seasons of pro ball in Israel.

	Vickie Johnson, New York's all-time leading scorer, is averaging 12.3 points and shooting 55 percent from behind the arc in the playoffs.

Facing the defending champion Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA Finals doesn't seem quite so intimidating after playing in gyms with armed guards.

"They had AKAs and machine guns,'' Johnson said. "It took me a while to get used to 18-year-olds walking around armed.''

Johnson, New York's all-time leading scorer with 2,216 points, leads the Liberty into Game 1 Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Coach Richie Adubato calls her the Liberty's "most complete player.''

She developed into a versatile player in Israel, but problems in the region made her homesick.

While playing there this past December to April, she called her mother every day and promised not to travel outside of Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv.

A week before she left, there was a bombing at a restaurant in an area close to where she and friends planned to eat.

"It made me appreciate life,'' Johnson said. "It also made me realize it was about time to think about going home.''

Now she hopes to win a championship in America. Johnson, who often defends opposing teams' most versatile players, likely will shadow Sparks forward Mwadi Mabika.

Like Johnson, Mabika is an explosive scorer. She was the Sparks' second-leading scorer, averaging 16.8 points during the regular season.

In six playoff games, Johnson is averaging 12.3 points, shooting 55 percent from behind the arc (11-for-20) and 82 percent from the free-throw line. She set a career-high with five 3-pointers in a 96-79 win over the Mystics in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.

"Vickie has been very impressive in their playoff run,'' Sparks guard Tamecka Dixon. "She always seems to make her shots in the clutch.''

Johnson also is key on defense. She held Tamika Catchings, the Indiana Fever's Rookie of the Year, to four points in the second half of Game 3 in the first round.

She helped double-team Washington Mystics forward Chamique Holdsclaw, the WNBA's leading scorer and rebounder, to win the conference finals.

"VJ is just a marvelous defender,'' Adubato said. "She has a tremendous competitive spirit. She has a big heart and plays bigger than she is. We play her on Catchings, we play her on Holdsclaw, and she's giving up six inches.''

Johnson has won four championships while playing in Israel and France. But the Liberty are 0-3 in the WNBA Finals, all against the Houston Comets.

She played college basketball at Louisiana Tech, where her team reached the Final Four in 1994. She was named Louisiana player of the year in 1996.

"I've said it for six years now, she is definitely the best two-guard in the league,'' guard Teresa Weatherspoon said. "She's just a warrior that we go to, she's our clutch player.''

Indiana coach Nell Fortner also is impressed.

"I think she's a heck of player,'' said Fortner, the 2000 U.S. Olympic coach. "She's good on both ends of the floor, her 3-point shooting and ability to come off the dribble have just gotten better since college. She's extremely quick laterally, one of the quickest out there, which makes her a tremendous defender.''

Johnson will teach at her basketball camp next month in Dallas. Then she'll consider playing in Italy or Korea to help pay the bills.

The 30-year-old Johnson would like to go into social work or coaching when her playing days are over. First, she'd like to hoist a WNBA trophy.

"It gives me butterflies, just thinking about it,'' Johnson said. "I can't even put it into words.''