The New York Liberty’s 79-72 win over the Atlanta Dream at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday was emblematic of the uneven stretch they are in the throes of heading into All-Star Weekend, which will take place in Indianapolis, Indiana, home of the Fever.
The Liberty trailed the Dream by 19 points (34-15) with 6:38 in the second quarter after a basket by Atlanta’s future Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Brittney Griner before trimming their deficit to 42-31 at halftime. New York continued to rally over the next two periods led by forward Leonie Fiebich’s game-high 21 points to earn a hard fought win.
Stacking victories has been a challenge for the defending WNBA champions since they began the season 9-0. From June 10 prior to facing the Indiana Fever last night at the Barclays — the Liberty’s fourth game of eight straight at home — they were 5-6 and fell from the top spot in the league’s standings. Their 14-6 record tied them for second in the loss column with the Phoenix Mercury, which were 15-6 when last night’s WNBA schedule tipped-off.
The Minnesota Lynx, which the Liberty defeated in last year’s finals, are atop of the 13-team league and were 19-4 before facing the Mercury yesterday afternoon. The Liberty’s slide has coincided with the absence of starting forward Jonquel Jones, last season’s finals MVP. Jones has not played since suffering a right ankle sprain on June 19 early in the second quarter versus the Mercury. The Liberty lost the game 89-81, falling to 10-2.
While the star has been sidelined for the Liberty’s last nine games, the team is optimistic she will return next Tuesday when they take on the Fever again at the Barclays. The 31-year-old native of Freeport, Bahamas, Jones is the 2021 league MVP, five-time All-Star, and five-time All-WNBA selection. Jones began five-on-five activity this past weekend. She is third on the Liberty in scoring at 12.1. Breanna Stewart was averaging 19.5 and Sabrina Ionescu 18.8 heading into last night. Jones’ 9.6 rebounds per game leads the Liberty.
“We’ve missed her and now it’s about ramping her up,” said Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello on Tuesday. “She hasn’t played in quite some time but just her impact will give confidence to everybody.”