This is what it’s like to have a WNBA team filled with All-Stars. While the New York Liberty had very talented players and winning records in past seasons, nothing has compared to this season as Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Betnijah Laney, Courtney Vandersloot, and Jonquel Jones win the toughest of games—all the while setting records for points, wins, and personal milestones.
This past week has featured three big Liberty victories. Last Thursday, the Liberty defeated the Connecticut Sun 95–90 in overtime in Connecticut. From there, the team headed to Minneapolis, where they drubbed the Minnesota Lynx 111–76, increasing New York’s record of most games with over 100 points.
On Monday, the Liberty returned home for the team’s second regular season victory over the defending WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces (the Liberty also defeated the Aces in the Commissioner’s Cup). The game marked yet another sellout crowd, words that haven’t been uttered in more than a decade.
“Obviously, we wanted to tighten up things and continue to be the best New York Liberty team that we can be,” said Ionescu, the team’s top scorer against the Aces with 25 points. This was the fourth time this month the Liberty and Aces have faced off, with the Liberty prevailing three times. Ionescu likened it to a playoff series in-season. “It was nice to be able to see how we’ve been able to come out every single game and make those adjustments in real time and continue to get better through these games,” she said.
Vandersloot, who contributed 17 points, 10 assists and five rebounds, said she felt confident throughout the game that the Liberty had control. “After our slow start, we came back and we really picked it up defensively. I think we were making things hard for them. We were scoring in transition,” she said.
Head coach Sandy Brondello again noted the depth of the team. When Jones got into foul trouble, Stefanie Dolson was able to step in. She also said the team has gelled over the course of the season. “The chemistry is there,” Brondello said. “The more time we spend together, we can work out how we want to execute.”
The Liberty return to Barclays Center tomorrow night to face the Connecticut Sun and then have a very busy final stretch of regular season play before heading into the playoffs. They face the Sun tomorrow in Brooklyn, the Chicago Sky (Sunday) and Dallas Wings (Tuesday) on the road, and then finish with the Los Angeles Sparks (next Thursday) and Washington Mystics (September 10) at home.