Liberty’s bench shines as they beat the Chicago Sky on the road
Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Liberty were shorthanded on Saturday vs. the Chicago Sky afternoon. However, the WNBA’s best team put on a show and came away with another impressive win. If you're looking for a word to describe the 2024 New York Liberty, it might be depth. The team built a fantastic starting five in 2023 and needed to get some more help for the starters. It was something Sandy Brondello, Jonathan Kolb, and Liberty fans thought about all winter long and something they needed to figure out. That’s a job for Brondello, and something she made a point to emphasize during training camp:
“Now, how do we build the bench into complementary pieces to what we have? And I think we do, I think we have good versatility. We have good toughness. We have some good draft picks, and then we just have to see how it all evolves and what we need to make sure that anytime, if someone goes down, we can cover for it.”
On Saturday afternoon, that depth was put to the test. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton has been down for the past few games, and Breanna Stewart joined her as she's dealing with a tight right hamstring. Against a Chicago Sky looking for some revenge on national TV, it would be a tough test for the seafoam. And for the WNBA’s best team, it was a chance for the whole roster to put on a show.
The game flipped in the second quarter. The Liberty started slowly in the first quarter as the Sky collected seven offensive rebounds in the first quarter and sped the Liberty up a bit. New York only shot 28.6 percent from the field, but did enough to remain within striking distance after one. In the second, they took control of the game and never let go.
Ivana Dojkic hadn’t played much since June 23 vs. the Atlanta Dream, but today she got her opportunity and made the absolute most of it.
IVANA GOT BUSY 4-4 FGM (2-2 3PT) IV IS COMING IN HOTTT pic.twitter.com/dVAHSlWX0N— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 13, 2024
“It’s not easy to not play a couple of games and then just come in and get these minutes,” Leonie Fiebich said in postgame. “She did great. She was hitting almost every shot on offense. She was giving us some pressure on the point guard on defense, which is always annoying for the other team. It’s just huge what she does for us, and I’m happy to be on the court with her.”
Down two All Stars in Stewart and Laney-Hamilton, more was expected of the Liberty roster. Fiebich continued her All WNBA rookie team run with a solid outing of 13/6/2/0/1 in 30 minutes. Kayla Thornton didn’t score, but her energy and effort on defense was contagious. Nyara Sabally played 13 minutes in her second game back from injury and had a solid line of 6/2/0/1/1. And Kennedy Burke stepped in for Stewart at the four and had 7/3/2/3/1 in 30 minutes of play. More on KB in a bit.
But in order to win, you need your stars to show up. Jonquel Jones started off slowly in the first as she went just 1-7 from the field and was getting frustrated by the combination of missing makable shots and the play of Kamilla Cardoso. However, JJ still found a way to make an impact and showcased her all around excellence.
Lunch on @jus242!JJ with the dish to @sabrina_i20 | #LIGHTITUPNYL pic.twitter.com/NYf3A4l4lC— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 13, 2024
“We’ve spoken to JJ a fair bit about how important she is to the success of our team,” Brondello said in postgame. “She missed some early, but I wasn’t worried because I know she’s in a really good place. She knows what we expect of her every game in being aggressive. She’s a facilitator. She had seven assists, that’s pretty impressive. But her rebounding, her defense. But I think the biggest growth for us... We know she’s a great basketball player, it’s the leadership that she has with this team... She pours confidence into all these players and it’s been great. It doesn’t matter how old you are. You’re going to continue to evolve, aren’t you?”
True indeed!
In addition to JJ, Sabrina Ionescu led the way as well. The three time All Star and upcoming Olympian led all players in scoring with 28 points and took over after halftime. She scored 19 points after intermission and hit this dagger three over Cardoso to push the Liberty lead up to 11
Sabrina Ionescu hits the triple over the outstretched arms of Kamilla Cardoso That's four consecutive games of 20 or more PTS for Ionescu ABC pic.twitter.com/hsTgnRcLbf— WNBA (@WNBA) July 13, 2024
The Liberty have done a lot of things well this year and even down two of their best players, showed that they have more than enough cohesion and excellence to compete and win.
Final score: New York Liberty 81, Chicago Sky 67
The Streak... is over
Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images
On June 4, Angel Reese recorded a double-double in a loss to the Liberty. It was the first of a WNBA rookie record 15 consecutive double doubles. During this stretch, Reese emerged as a Rookie of the Year candidate, All Star, and someone who might push the Sky into the postseason. With the game out of reach, Angel had one more chance to extend the streak. To that point, she was 3-12 from the field as an assortment of Liberty defenders made things hard on the Bayou Barbie. And on this possession, the Liberty pushed the difficulty up to ten
Liberty were NOT letting Angel Reese get that double double they quadruple teamed her pic.twitter.com/zMWydeehpt— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) July 13, 2024
And thus, the streak ends.
Kennedy Burke got the primary assignment on Reese, and she was magnificent. Burke and the Liberty were able to frustrate Reese and get her off balance.
“KB keeps getting better and better in our practices and the games we’ve had,” Brondello said. “She’s been staying ready, and I thought she gave us really good minutes. It was great to get her extended minutes and hopefully we continue to build on it.”
With one game to go before a well deserved month off, Burke and the Liberty will try to build off this excellent outing and go into the break solidly in first place.
Next up
Photo by Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images
A familiar foe awaits the Liberty before they depart for the Olympics. The Connecticut Sun will be at Barclays Center on Tuesday night for the last game before the break. Tip off after 7 PM.
Boxscore: New York Liberty 81, Chicago Sky 67 - WNBA
Game Highlights: New York Liberty 81, Chicago Sky 67 (Video) - WNBA
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