Three Liberty Starters Upgraded to Questionable
Looking to get hot at just the right time, the New York Liberty might get a little help back when it faces the Phoenix Mercury.
Natasha Cloud (nose), Sabrina Ionescu (toe), and Jonquel Jones (illness) are all listed as questionable on the injury report for the interconference clash set to be staged late Saturday night (10 p.m. ET, My9). Nyara Sabally (knee) once again remains out.
For now, that's good news for the Liberty (24-15), which was once against forced to play with only eight women in its prior bout with the Washington Mystics on Thursday in Brooklyn. Originally, it featured only Cloud and Sabally but Ionescu and Jones were scratched less than two hours before tip-off. Ionescu was revealed to have injured a toe in preparation for the Mystics' visit while Cloud was anticipated to play before being ruled out in the afternoon.
Nonetheless, New York managed to put forth one of its dominant efforts of the season in an 89-63 triumph over a Washington group trying to keep its playoff hopes alive. Regular starters Leonie Fiebich and Breanna Stewart were joined by Kennedy Burke, Marine Johannes, and Emma Meesseman while Isabelle Harrison was big off the bench in her first appearance since Aug. 10 with a team-best 16 points.
Saturday's game tips off a late three-game road trip for New York, which will also visit Golden State and Seattle next week. Entering the weekend, the Liberty is still stationed in fifth place on the current playoff bracket but is only game-and-a-half behind runner-up Las Vegas. New York will clinch a playoff berth with either two two more wins or a win and a loss for the Los Angeles Sparks, who face the Indiana Fever on Friday.
If the season ended today, New York would face MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas and fourth-ranked Phoenix in the opening round of the postseason, with the Mercury (24-14) holding homecourt advantage. The Mercury won the first two meetings by a combined 24 points while the Liberty won the most recent get-together by an 89-76 decision in Brooklyn on July 25.
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.