Fantastic Freshmen Guide Liberty to 8th Straight Win

BROOKLYN-No matter what happens this football season, the tri-state area swept at least one couple from Dallas thanks to the New York Liberty.

Once again playing without Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, the Liberty held off a challenge from the steadfast Dallas Wings, taking a 79-71 decision at Barclays Center on Thursday night. The win, the team's eighth in a row, came two nights after the Liberty (25-4) dashed Dallas by a 20-point final.

Breanna Stewart led the way with 19 points while Jonquel Jones had a matching double-double with 13 points and rebounds. It was the 90th double-double of Jones' career and her 11th this season, as New York maintained a perfect record when she reaches those landmarks.

Thursday offered one of the uglier Liberty wins of the season, as the shorthanded group struggled to find a rhythm: New York shot 26.9 percent (5-of-19) from the field en route to a mere 14 points in the opening period, one further marred by Kayla Thornton's quick retreat to the hosts' locker room after taking an inadvertent elbow.

The Liberty responded in the second by hitting five of their first six tries but they also lost five turnovers as part of an 11-loss night that yielded 11 Dallas points. A united 5-of-5 for Jones and Kennedy Burke was enough to build a slim halftime lead and sanity appeared to be restored when New York quickly went up eight in the early stages of the third.

Dallas, however, responded with an 8-0 run of its own and the advantage/deficit never became more than two possessions again until the third-to-final minute. With its regulars struggling, New York relied on a pair of rookies to stabilize the scoreboard.

Leonie Fiebich, who left Tuesday's game early with a rib injury, wound up scoring 16 points, including the de facto dagger from deep with 1:15 remaining. Fiebich earned the bulk of her scoring with a quartet of triples, which gives her 37 for the season. That's good for third in Liberty rookie history, as she's now tied with Kia Nurse and Michaela Onyenwere.

But the true standout was Jaylyn Sherrod, an undrafted freshman played on her third and final seven-day contract. Sherrod earned the first significant minutes of her career and took full advantage with strong facillitation and penetration. Her two points brought the loudest cheers of the night, as she turned a Nyara Sabally steal into a coast-to-coast fastbreak. Sherrod nearly had two more but her would-be third quarter buzzer-beater was instead ruled a shot clock violation.

Despite a respectable effort, Dallas (6-22) was doomed to its third straight defeat. All-Star Game MVP Arike Ogunbowale fell two assists and four rebounds short of a triple-double as she led the Wings with 19 points. The two sides will have another couple next month, this one in North Texas on Sept. 10 and 12.

In the meantime, the Liberty face a hefty challenge on Saturday, as a three-game homestand wraps against the Connecticut Sun (7 p.m. ET, WWOR). Connecticut is four games behind New York for the top seed on the WNBA playoff bracket before it hosts Chicago on Friday.

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