Olympic gold secured, it is back to New York Liberty business for Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu after they were integral components of Team USA’s championship squad in Paris.
The Liberty opened their post-Olympic schedule last Thursday on the road by dismantling the Los Angeles Sparks by 103-68, led by Stewart’s 27 points. It was the Liberty’s third win this season by 35 or more, setting a new WNBA record.
Two nights later, they pounced on the Las Vegas Aces in another road game, coming away coming with a 79-67 win as Ionescu was the team’s top scorer with 23. The victory over the Aces gave the Liberty the distinction of being the first WNBA team to clinch a playoff spot this season.
The Liberty went into their match-up on Tuesday at the Barclays Center—their first game at home since July 16—versus the Dallas Wings 23-4, the best mark in the league, ahead of the Connecticut Sun at 19-7 before facing the Sparks at home on Tuesday. The Liberty will host the Wings again tonight (7 p.m.) before the Sun visit Brooklyn on Saturday night (7 p.m.).
The Minnesota Lynx were in third at 19-8 and the defending champion Aces, with the world’s best player and MVP frontrunner A’ja Wilson, who was dominant at the Paris Olympics, were fourth at 17-9 before Tuesday’s league schedule.
While almost all members of the Liberty contributed offensively, Jonquel Jones was a huge defensive presence, with 17 rebounds in the win over the Aces. “Sometimes, that’s our best offense—knowing we can keep the floor spaced and shoot the ball with confidence, knowing JJ is down there,” said Ionescu. “If we do miss, she cleans it up almost every single time.”
Ionescu said the players are extremely happy to clinch a spot in the playoffs, but the goal remains continuing to win games in regular season and then succeed in the playoffs. “Obviously, it’s a really long season,” she said. “We’re just kind of getting back into it, but it’s nice to see we’ve been able to pick up where we left off and keep grinding away.”
Stewart said she and Ionescu are glad to be back with the team, some of whom were Olympic adversaries. Liberty Head Coach Sandy Brondello coached the Australian team that the U.S. downed in the semi-finals, and Leonie Fiebich and Nyara Sabally played on Team Germany, which the U.S. defeated in pool play.
“We obviously won a gold medal and did something really special in continuing to extend that streak—eight straight golds—but also something special with that team,” said Stewart. “Then, we were excited to be back with our teammates and staff, and know that this second half of the season is really important. There are no excuses.
“Nobody cares if we just came off the Olympics and we have a game four days later and a nine-hour time zone change. When you think about it, it’s a little bit wild…Our teammates have really worked hard while we’ve been gone. We’ve got bigger things to do.”