Emma Meesseman's Sterling Second Half Highlights Liberty Debut
UNCASVILLE — The New York Liberty's Emma Meesseman gambit at Mohegan Sun Arena hit an early jackpot.
Meesseman, with nary a full team practice to her name, made her seafoam debut on Sunday afternoon against the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville and reaped in the immediate benefits to the tune of an 87-78 victory. That ended a four-game losing streak for New York (18-10), which continues to navigate without several contributors such as fellow WNBA All-Star and champion Breanna Stewart.
"She's one of the smartest players I've ever coached, and you know, had to scout against," Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said prior to Sunday's tip-off. "She's going to give us great minutes, we know that. Today, we just need to build some chemistry. She's played with some of these players, but it's a little different, it's a new situation. We'll learn by doing."
With Stewart, as well as depth stars Kennedy Burke and Nyara Sabally, still out due to varying ailments, Meesseman was placed in the Liberty starting lineup as the team sought to recover from Friday's brutal defeat to the same, cellar-dwelling Sun. Meesseman officially signed with New York hours before Friday's tip-off.
Meesseman shook off early rust (two immediate misses within the first 65 seconds of the game) to help the Liberty maintain itself through a second half they allowed them to lock things down: playing relatively brief bursts, Meesseman scored 11 points over the final 20 minutes as New York handled business. Though she was kept off the scoreboard in the opening half, she found leading scorers Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones for nifty assists in the first half that kept another upset attempt from the Sun in check.
"First half was just [about] being thrown in there, get a feel for how this team plays. I've played with a lot of these people already, but different teams, different players ... Second half got a bit better," Meesseman said of her debut, saying she sought to keep things simple the first time around. "Basketball can be really easy, if you just read off each other. One of my mottos is to keep it simple... if it works, it works. If you see someone open and they cut, give them the ball and get a layup. It's easy."
It was thus a victorious return to the WNBA scene for Meesseman, whose sneakers touched American hardwood for the first time since her days with the Chicago Sky in 2022.
She spent most of her prior WNBA career (2013-20) with the Washington Mystics, winning the Finals MVP award for her efforts against the Sun in 2019. Joining her for the ride back then were Liberty guard Natasha Cloud and director of player development Andrew Wade, who has been instrumental in the seafoam crash course that has made up Meeseman's weekend.
Meesseman is one of the greatest weapons of a cold war staged between New York and Minnesota, last year's combatants in the WNBA Finals. She has spent the past few years thrusting her native Belgium's women's national basketball program to new heights, such as back-to-back EuroBasket women's titles (which saw Meesseman win MVP in each tournament in question) and their best-ever Olympics finish last summer in Paris.
Both sides have made moves to ensure their return trip, as the Lynx traded for DiJonai Carrington, the league's newest Most Improved Player, hours before Sunday's Liberty-Sun game tipped off. That came the Liberty won the Meesseman sweepstakes against fellow contenders Minnesota and Phoenix, leading the former's coach, Cheryl Reeve, to quip that Meesseman "made the wrong choice."
Meesseman's herself was fully confident in her choice before taking the floor on Sunday, her return staged on the floor that hosted some of her greater professional hours.
"I'm just looking to know good people, to feel home wherever I am. So I felt like now was the time again to go back to America, and I think I'm in the right team to feel that," Meesseman said. "I did my thing with national team. The thing for me is, there's no pressure. I've done everything I wanted to do. I've participated in everything. So I'm not really chasing a particular goal. I want to win."
It was a day of many happy returns for Meesseman, who had played with several Liberty teammates prior to her official New York entry on Sunday.
In addition to returning to partial site of the 2019 Finals, Meesseman made her Liberty debut in front of Sun head coach Rachid Meziane, who oversaw some of her decorated endeavors with the Belgian national club.
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.