Another Liberty Comeback Falls Short in Finals Rematch
Despite missing several stars, the New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx's follow-up to their fateful Finals fracas lived up to the hype, albeit to the detriment of the seafoam savants.
A 30-point performance from presumptive MVP Napheesa Collier helped the Lynx earned a quantum of revenge over the Liberty, take the first of four grudge matches between last year's WNBA Finals combatants by a 100-93 final on Wednesday night at Target Center. It's the first of four such showdowns through Aug. 19 and part two is slated for Aug. 10 at Barclays Center.
Collier was 11-of-16 from the floor and one rebound short of a double-double while Kayla McBride put in 24 amidst a 13-assists, nine-rebound showing for Courtney Williams. Natisha Hiedeman had 10 off the bench, all but two in the fourth quarter to shut down a surprisingly spirited Liberty effort that fell just short of obtaining what would've been an impressive victory.
Sabrina Ionescu led the way with 31 points for New York, extending her franchise record with her 17th career game with a triple-decade. Isabelle Harrison came off the bench to score 15 on 7-of-10 from the floor.
Combined with the negative results against Los Angeles and Dallas, the Liberty has dropped three consecutive games for the first time in over three calendar years. Despite the defeat, shorthanded New York (17-9) was mostly pleased with the way things panned out after their dreary output in North Texas on Monday.
Missing a vital triumvirate in Breanna Stewart, Kennedy Burke, and Nyara Sabally, the Liberty nonetheless jumped out to an 11-6 lead before the Lynx called the game's first timeout at 6:44, sustained by fill-in starter Marine Johannes and early work from Natasha Cloud, who nearly missed the game herself due to an illness. Cloud and Ionescu each had 10 points, two ahead of Johannes. Early facilitation from Leonie Fiebich was also welcome, as she dished out five assists.
The Liberty led by as much as eight in the first period before Minnesota's full contingent took over, though the two sides kept exchange the lead until Alanna Smith's triple at the midway point of the second quarter. Even then, the Lynx lead didn't reach double figures until there was 5:57 left in the third, as Williams sank her only field goal of the night on 13 tries.
From there, the Lynx lead was healthily maintained and McBride's three, the penultimate accounting in her 24-tally output, created a 15-point advantage with just over three minutes remaining. The stripped-down Liberty, however, had one last rally in them, as an 11-0 run that ran into the penultimate minute sliced the lead to four. Collier, however, once again fulfilled the middle initial of MVP, officially delivering the dagger with a successful and-one with just over 50 seconds remaining.
The shorthanded New Yorkers were done in by second chances, as Minnesota earned 20 points off 11 offensive rebounds. All but two of the participating Minnesotans had at least one and four pulled in two. Missing the length of Stewart, Burke, and Sabally, the Liberty had only three second chance points in response.
Nonetheless, the Liberty seemed to believe that positive momentum on this four-game road trip, which returns east for its second half. The Liberty will look to get back on the right track this weekend, as they'll engage the Connecticut Sun in a weekend doubleheader beginning on Friday night (7:30 p.m. ET, Ion).
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.