Dual Double-Doubles Lift Liberty Over Caitlin Clark, Fever
Facing an early Indiana Fever epidemic, the New York Liberty survived the fist wave on Thursday night.
Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart each put up double-doubles as the Liberty rolled to a 102-66 victory at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, spoiling the Indianapolis debut of 2024's top draft pick Caitlin Clark. New York (2-0) led wire-to-wire as Stewart led the way with 31 points while Jones continued her strong start with 14 more. Both pulled in 10 rebounds while fellow starters Sabrina Ionescu (14) and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (12) also reached double-figures in scoring.
""We played with a sense of urgency we really didn't have against Washington," head coach Sandy Brondello said. "I thought we executed our scout really well ... The team got behind the ball, we played with a sense of urgency."
Though she was only 2-of-8 from the field, Clark was able to at least do a little something once the game got out of hand, scorning nine points with seven rebounds and six assists. Clark also lost only three turnovers after she dropped 10 in her unofficial debut on Tuesday in Connecticut.
New York reps credited Laney-Hamilton for the shutdown defense: the Liberty were plus-43 on the scoreboard when the longest-tenured Brooklynite was on the floor on Thursday.
"We have Betnijah Laney. What more could you ask for?" head coach Sandy Brondello rhetorically asked. "(She's) one of the best defenders in this league, if not the best. She really takes it one, just committed to excellence, really."
Frustrating Clark early on helped the Liberty establish an early first period lead. Indiana (0-2) crept back during the middle stages, the biggest threat being a 12-0 run over the final four-plus minutes of the third. The Liberty responded with a 35-10 shellacking in the final frame, one that allowed them to empty their bench and coast toward the end. Top reserves Kennedy Burke, Kayla Thornton, and Nyara Sabally united to shoot 6-of-8 from the field.
It was a stark contrast form the Liberty's rollercoaster opener in Washington on Tuesday, which necessitated a double-digit comeback before an 85-80 victory.
Perhaps surprisingly, the Liberty, well-regarded for their outside shooting, got by while shooting only 8-of-27 from three-point range. New York scored 12 of its first 17 points in the paint and wound up scoring 48 total. Thursday marked the Liberty's largest margin of victory while shooting less than 30 percent from the field and also the first time they've won consecutive games with that same lack of outside success since 2019.
"To be great, you have to not just settle up with the three," Brondello said. "We had a lot of wide-open threes that we typically don't miss that many but we're just encouaged and we just keep playing the right way. We talk about paint grit, I think any time we can two feet into the paint, we've got really aggressive guards and post players that can get in there. Those are high-percentage shots."
"It just takes discipline, how to play the right way. We're missing shots, we have to make sure we get two feet in the paint."
On defense, the Liberty limited Indiana to just two double-figure scorers: Aliyah Boston led the way with 12 points while Katie Lou Samuelson had 10 on 4-of-5 shooting. Clark's six assists accounted for nearly half of the Fever's meager tally of 13, as they hit only 13 field goals beyond the combined nine for Boston and Samuelson.
Indiana won't have to wait long for potential revenge, as it'll serve as the Liberty's opponent in the 2024 Barclays Center opener on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m. ET, ABC).
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks