Liberty Reserve Rises as Silver Lining
Despite a turbulent road trip, Isabelle Harrison soared for the New York Liberty.
Harrison, one of the newer New Yorkers, was one of the undeniable silver linings to emerge from the Liberty's recent 1-3 posting on the road, one that ended with a 90-81 defeat at the hands of the Atlanta Dream on Sunday. Despite the defeat, Harrison was one of the busiest bearers of seafoam with eight points on 4-of-6 from the field to go with six rebounds and a steal.
"She always stayed ready," head coach Sandy Brondello lauded. "That's part about being on a team, being ready and prepared and confident in what you do and what you bring. I think that's what Izzy has done. She's been around for a while. She's not a rookie, she's a veteran player and she's given us some really good minutes for us ... I think it's good for us as we move forward."
Having dropped five of seven after a perfect 9-0 start, New York (11-5) has some work to do as it prepares to embark on an eight-game showcase at Barclays Center. Though they the Liberty will no doubt have the support of an understanding crowd and the return of Leonie Fiebich to work with, the journey gets no easier with Jonquel Jones still nursing an ankle injury with a four-to-six week timeline.
Harrison's emergence has been a soothing sensation that has encouraged the Liberty to work through the Jones-less stretch. The proof is in the statistical pudding by both advanced and conventional measures.
Over the last three games, the Liberty are a plus-21 on the scoreboard when Harrison is on the floor. That's tops on the Liberty in that span, and tied for second-best with Aaliyah Nye of Las Vegas among WNBA reserves with a minimum of 40 minutes played.
Harrison and fellow reserves Marquesha Davis and Marine Johannes are also the one New Yorkers with a positive net rating in that span. Davis is the leader, albeit in just under eight minutes, while Harrison is second at 21.2 in the department. Harrison and Johannes have also sunk over 64 percent from the field in the trio to pace Brooklyn.
Though a stranger to New York, taking to the Brooklyn floor after a comeback season with the Chicago Sky (having missed the entire 2023 campaign due to a torn meniscus), Harrison was familiar with major Liberty brass: Brondello played a role in her drafting out of Tennessee back in 2015 (12th overall to Phoenix) and Harrison is currently in a relationship with fellow metropolitan newcomer Natasha Cloud, who lauded the progress Harrison has made in the Liberty system.
"The last few years of her career have been really tough. To be in a system and an organization that believes in her, that puts her in successful situations [is great]," Cloud said of the former Dallas Wing. "She's been ready. She's been working her [butt] off, so it's just always good to see her get rewarded."
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.