Liberty Inspired by Shorthanded Effort
If moral victories counted, the New York Liberty would have a lot more competition in their quest to repeat as WNBA champions.
The flight back to the Finals has hit its first stretch of turbulence, as the Liberty (10-3) have dropped three of their last four after picking up wins in their first nine. Injuries and absences have no doubt played a role — even if the Liberty don't want to use that escape clause — but New York wasn't pleased with the way it handled an early test, namely face teams with winning records on consecutive occasions for the first time.
"We didn't respond very well at all," head coach Sandy Brondello said after the Liberty dropped an 89-81 decision to the Phoenix Mercury at home last week. "I've got to find ways to to get us going a little bit more aggressively in the beginning here. It was too easy, too easy for them, and they got a lot of confidence out of that."
Brondello was not pleased with the way the Liberty fared against her former employers, one that saw them lose 20 turnovers and the rebounding battle by 10 (including 16-6 on the offensive glass alone). They were able to eke out a 17-15 win after the first period but the defensive prowess failed to press forward. The loss to the Mercury trailed a New York win over the Atlanta Dream, though falling behind by 17 in that comeback effort proved to leave lasting mental damage.
The follow-up in the Pacific Northwest was a more dire task, as New York learned it would have to go without Sabrina Ionescu, who was dealing with a "kink" in her neck hours before tip-off against the Seattle. The continued absence of both Leonie Fiebich (international duties) and Jonquel Jones (ankle) likewise loomed large and forced the Liberty to play some unusual combinations in the effort to avoid consecutive losses for the first time in the calendar year.
That proved to be a futile cause — another turnover-heavy output amidst the new unions led to an 89-79 defeat — but New York seemed more pleased with the way things worked.
Facing the surging Storm, New York kept things close until one last charge from Nneka Ogwumike (6-of-7 in the fourth period alone) sealed their fate. It was, nonetheless, a positive showcase for spot starters Rebekah Gardner and Marine Johannes, both of whom reached double-figures in defeat, Johannes showed off for her fellow French stars Dominique Malonga and Gabby Williams, hitting each of her first seven tries from the field as New York kept the drama rolling.
Forced to face resilience for a good part of this season despite the early success, Liberty leaders were, at the very least, comfortable with the progress made while they wait for reinforcements.
"Regardless of who was in or out, was an opportunity for us to be better," Brondello said after Sunday's game. "I thought we played really hard compared to the last few games. We played really hard for 40 minutes. Was it perfect? No, but we were right there. I think we were persistent. We're disappointed that we didn't win it, but still proud of just the effort they had."
"We're just continuing to keep our heads up," forward and former Pacific Northwesterner Breanna Stewart, scorer of a team-best 18 points in defeat, added. "This isn't going to be the hardest thing that we face all season. We have to kind of embrace the adversity a little bit, whether it's [being] down, players, or things happen in the middle of the game. There's controllable things that we can control, like turnovers. We're really getting a good gel with the group that we have right now, that's important for later, because you never know what's going to happen, especially as you're making playoff pushes or things like that. This is a great opportunity for everyone to kind of gain experience in bigger roles and putting more on their plate."
New York's opportunity, in the form of an ongoing road trip, continues on Wednesday night, when they play a game in San Francisco for the first time against the upstart expansion group known as the Golden State Valkyries (10 p.m. ET, WWOR).
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.