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Photo of Liberty Coach Watching Caitlin Clark Hit a Three Over Breanna Stewart Is Iconic

Consider Sandy Brondello very impressed.

Kristen Wong

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates a made basket with New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30)in the first half against the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) celebrates a made basket with New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30)in the first half against the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
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Playing against Caitlin Clark usually gives opposing WNBA coaches headaches for obvious reasons.

Liberty coach Sandy Brondello was on the sidelines throwing everything she could at Clark in Saturday's 102-88 loss to the Indiana Fever, though it ultimately proved unfruitful as Clark flirted with a near triple double and knocked down a career-high-tying seven three-pointers.

One of those treys came against Liberty vet and two-time MVP Breanna Stewart, who did her best to fairly contest Clark's ridiculous shot but could only watch in amazement when Clark got nothing but net. The two shared a priceless moment on the court in which Stewie appeared to be laughing at just how good the second-year guard was.

A subtler detail during that moment was Brondello standing by her bench smiling after Clark's three-pointer—Clark's fifth of the first half—and even applauding the moment between the Fever and Liberty star:

Here's a video that more clearly shows Brondello tipping her proverbial hat to Clark in the background:

All class from the Liberty coach.

Brondello said during an in-game interview early on in the Liberty-Fever contest that her team needed to find ways to hinder Clark in order to secure the win. The Liberty's defense never figured out a solution, and Clark and the Fever went on to beat the last remaining undefeated team in the W.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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