The Liberty long ago gave up any hope of making the WNBA playoffs, but the past few weeks have been about salvaging their pride. Now even that goal hangs by a thread, with just two games left in the year and the struggling team undoing what little good work it had done.

The Liberty, who host Charlotte tonight (7:30; MSG), have lost back-to-back games, the latter a 77-44 caning at the hands of Indiana. They’re 9-23 with just tonight and Sunday’s nationally-televised finale vs. Washington, and they’re desperate to carry some momentum into this offseason.

“We’ve just got to stay within ourselves and move forward. We’ve taken a couple steps back these last two games. We’ve got to move forward and try and end this season on a positive note,” said PG Becky Hammon. “You just don’t want to go into next season having that be the last thought; not in our minds, the fans’ minds or management’s minds. We’ve got to get better.”

After bottoming out at 4-20 following a club-record 11-game skid, the Liberty rebounded to win 5 of 6. But they looked horrid against Indiana, despite the return of Hammon, who played for just the second time in 13 games due to a sprained left ankle.

“She looked better than she did against Connecticut (on Aug. 1),” said coach Pat Coyle. “She moved better. Her explosiveness isn’t back, but it’s better than it was. (But) we took a step back, and I’m not sure why.”