New York Liberty finish off regular-season sweep of Seattle Storm, 77-70
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton returned to the starting lineup, and the New York Liberty defeated the first of two potential second-round opponents. The New York Liberty are through their immediate post-Olympic run, having played eight games in 15 days. At 27-6, they have the WNBA’s best record nearly secured, holding a three-game lead over the Connecticut Sun (and Minnesota Lynx) with the tiebreaker to boot.
This final seven-game stretch, then, isn’t solely about wins and losses. The Liberty could go 4-3, subpar by their standards, to clinch home-court advantage through the postseason. Even 3-4 would almost certainly do it.
Rather, it’s about getting playoff-ready, continuing to reintegrate Betnijah Laney-Hamilton into the rotation as Sandy Brondello nails down her real rotation. And this stretch begins with two games against, in all likelihood, the only two teams New York could face in the second round: the Seattle Storm on Thursday night, the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday afternoon.
Against the Storm on Thursday, Laney-Hamilton was re-inserted into the starting lineup, following a strong game in Seattle her last time out. In that one, the trio of Laney-Hamilton, Courtney Vandersloot, and Sabrina Ionescu did not share the floor for a minute. A stark departure from 2023, but with Ionescu’s heavy ball-handling duties this season, it’s reasonable to ask if there are enough offensive reps to go around.
The answer was a resounding ‘yes’ on Thursday. Laney-Hamilton was excellent throughout, getting in where she fit in offensively...
Betnijah drives a closeout, skips it for a three. Next possession she posts up and gets a bucket in early offense: pic.twitter.com/TG3qHgThsG— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) September 5, 2024
The result? An efficient 18/6/3 line on 7-of-14 shooting.
Laney-Hamilton was full of praise post-game, for anybody but herself: “Honestly, I think my teammates set really good screens, they helped allow things to open up. We know everybody pays a lot of attention to [Stewart] and [Ionescu] and everything ... it helped me be able to get to the basket.”
Neither Vandersloot nor Ionescu were as effective, but their toes were decidedly un-stepped on. Heck, Ionescu got up 18 shots in her 31 minutes, and though she made just five of them, she was the recipient of some open catch-and-shoot 3-point looks...
I mean look at this @sabrina_i20 https://t.co/raH4WiSGAP pic.twitter.com/Uz6m28tXpW— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) September 5, 2024
This wasn’t enough to put a solid Storm team away early, though. Ezi Magbegor showed why she’s the favorite for Defensive Player of the Year in dealing with Breanna Stewart, who starting the game 0-of-9. Gabby Williams had her best offensive performance since returning the states with 17 points, while Skylar Diggins-Smith was still a handful to deal with on the perimeter, even if she took 19 shots to get her 21 points.
When Jonquel Jones took a breather late in the third quarter, she was the main reason the score was tied at 57. Laney-Hamilton had been solid, as had Leonie Fiebich, but they needed one of the Liberty’s stars to step up. And to that point, it had been Jones, the Bahamian big showing out on West Indian Night at the Barclays Center.
For the first time since the Olympic break, she showed true two-way, inside-out dominance, hitting three threes and blocking five shots on her way to 15-and-8...
great JJ game so far: pic.twitter.com/nizqhLvej8— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) September 6, 2024
Said Sandy Brondello: “I think JJ, it’s just how she impacts on defense, behind the ball, in the paint. I mean, the five blocks, they’re always pretty impressive blocks, too. So that helps us as a team, Seattle are really looking to get into the paint as much as they can.”
But Jones did need a breath, at some point. So Brondello turned to a lineup with Stewie playing center, next to Kennedy Burke rather than Nyara Sabally. Fiebich and Laney-Hamilton flanked the front-court, building a menacingly long lineup.
Seattle went scoreless over the next five minutes, watching the hosts go on an 11-0 run. Breanna Stewart made 5-of-6 shots after that 0-of-9 start, but really, it was about the defense sparking the offense, whether directly in transition or just by creating that precious momentum.
the kind of defensive possession you want to see out of NY's long, switch-heavy lineup. Nice plays by Leo and KB to cap it off: pic.twitter.com/O2bJlCJMkh— Lucas Kaplan (@LucasKaplan_) September 6, 2024
“I felt like we were getting stops and rebounding the ball really well,” said Vandersloot, the lone sub-six-footer on the court during the run. “With that lineup, it’s a lot of switches, a lot of activity, and then we were able to capitalize on the other end. We talked about running a lot of movement, but we almost didn’t have to run anything because our defense was resulting in some fast-break points and offense.”
New York won the transition battle 19-2. In a battle of ugly half-court offenses, that decided it. By the time Jones checked back in midway through the fourth quarter, all the Libs had to do was slam the door shut.
They did, though Seattle made a slightly threatening run in the final two minutes. This win wasn’t perfect, nor pretty most of the time — like the box score — but just like New York’s last win over this potential playoff opponent, it was ultimately convincing.
Said Brondello. “I think we’re feeling good ... We’re excited. Now we’ve got six more games to go, and it’s about making sure that we’re clicking and playing our best ball when it matters.”
Next Up
Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images
The Las Vegas Aces make their lone visit to the Empire State on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET. Enough said.
Box Score: New York Liberty 77, Seattle Storm 70 - WNBA
Game Highlights: New York Liberty 77, Seattle Storm 70 (Video) - WNBA
Laney-Hamilton returns to starting lineup, helps Liberty to 77-70 win over Storm - Doug Feinberg - AP
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