Liberty Lifted By Isabelle Harrison Return
BROOKLYN—With some members of the New York Liberty feeling dizzy, the team was picked up by Izzy.
Isabelle Harrison's return after over two weeks buoyed the Liberty on Thursday night, as the shorthanded group took a 89-63 decision from the Washington Mystics at Barclays Center. Upon her return from concussion protocol, Harrison led the team with 16 points and pulled in five rebounds.
The Liberty (24-15) won consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 3-8 and earned their third-widest margin of victory this season and its best since June 1. New York also maintained pace in the race for second on the WNBA playoff bracket, remaining in fifth while moving a game-and-a-half behind Las Vegas for second with five to play.
Beginning the day expecting to lose only two women (Natasha Cloud and Nyara Sabally), the Liberty was also forced to play without Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones due to a foot injury and an illness respectively.
Harrison, on the other hand, returned to action for the first time since Aug. 10 and kept up a strong pace on display since taking on a larger role in the rotation in late June. A 4-of-6 shooting output in the second quarter helped center the Liberty after a foundering first and set the tone for a dominant second where depth stars reigned.
Getting off to a good start was vital for the Liberty, which was forced to play with eight women again after previously doing so on Saturday in Atlanta. New York trailed by two after one but enjoyed an early outbreak from Marine Johannes, who was thrown into the starting lineup amidst the ailments. Rebounding issues, however, once again came to haunt the Liberty, which gave up four second chances over the first 10 minutes alone.
Harrison's entry, however, helped the Liberty regain its mojo in the department, as the eventual plus-13 advantage on the glass was the best it was had this season. Four different women had at least five rebounds, with that group led by Breanna Stewart: still on a minutes restriction, Stewart pulled in nine boards in 23 minutes while scoring 12 points. After a somewhat lethargic first, New York let up only two offensive rebounds for the rest of the game, allowing it to build out its lead in relative peace.
Placed in the starting lineup with Stewart, Johannes and Emma Meesseman united for 29 points on 10-of-19 from the field and each tossed five assists. Joining Harrison off the bench were Rebekah Gardner and Stephanie Talbot, each of whom took advantage of expanded minutes.
Gardner hit each of her three tries from the field while Talbot had 11 points and six assists and rebounds each to go with two steals that created fastbreaks. With such a tally, Talbot became the first New Yorker to post a 10-5-5 game off the bench since Han Xu in 2022.
Washington (16-23) dropped its fifth game in a row and was dealt yet another blow in its improbable quest to swipe the eighth and final playoff spot. Rookie sensation Sonia Citron, a native of the Liberty's former dwelling of White Plains, led the way with 18 points, only three coming in the second half. Now four games out of the last playoff spot with five to play, the Mystics will serve as the opponent for the Liberty's regular season home finale on Sept. 9.
In the meantime, the Liberty now tips off a three-game road trip out west, one that tips off on Saturday night in Phoenix (10 p.m. ET, My9).
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.