Liberty Waives Marquesha Davis
Prior to Sunday's game against the Atlanta Dream, the New York Liberty announced the waiving of Marquesha Davis, who departs after a season-plus in seafoam.
"She didn't get many opportunities but she got much better," Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said prior to Sunday's visit from the Atlanta Dream (h/t Gabe Zoda of Sideline Sports Network). "She'll get another opportunity."
Davis is the most recent first-round pick on the Liberty ledgers, arriving as the 11th choice of the 2024 draft out of Mississippi. She never found a lasting role in the New York rotation, playing 111 total minutes in 29 appearances over the last two seasons. Davis did take advantage of some recent minutes, as she was a plus-14 in her final two appearances.
Davis' departure is part of a flurry of weekend moves on the WNBA landscape: with the 2025 season reaching its midway point, contracts would become fully guaranteed players were still on the roster past 5 p.m. ET on Sunday. There is a possibility that Davis could return to New York on a seven-day contract during the second half of the season. Her release gives New York just over $35,000 in cap space to work with, a little more than half of her 2025 salary.
Davis was one of several casualties alongside fellow 2024 first-round pick Alissa Pilli (Minnesota) as well as veterans Mercedes Russell (Los Angeles) and Stephanie Talbot (Golden State). Also released was Connecticut pair Jaelyn Brown and Haley Peters.
Though Brondello opted to leave transactional talk to general manager Jonathan Kolb, she did confirm that the Liberty has kept its eyes on the waiver wire. The prized prospect is Emma Meesseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP and former Natasha Cloud teammate fresh off a sterling showing in Belgium's championship run at the EuroBasket women's competition.
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.