NY Liberty vs. LA Sparks preview: Liberty look to win another one before hitting the road
Photo by Catalina Fragoso/NBAE via Getty Images
The Liberty and Sparks wrap up their two game mini-series this afternoon at Barclays Center. Back home and back in the win column. The New York Liberty returned to Barclays Center following a two game mini road trip in the desert. The Los Angeles Sparks were waiting for the seafoam, and they put up a heck of a fight. Fortunately for the folks at the 'clays, the home team did more than enough to send em home happy. The Liberty are now 13-3 on the WNBA season. This is the first half of a weekend back-to-back. When this wraps up, they head south to face the Atlanta Dream.
For more on the Sparks, check out our friends at Silver Screen and Roll.
Where to follow the game
ESPN is the place to be. Party's getting started after 3:00 p.m. ET.
Injuries
Nyara Sabally is out. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton missed Thursday’s game with a right knee injury. She’s listed as questionable.
On Thursday, we learned that Courtney Vandersloot’s mother Jan passed away due to cancer. Prior to the game, the team posted a tribute to Mrs. Vandersloot at the arena
pic.twitter.com/9wtzyDLIvj— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) June 21, 2024
Liberty fans at the ‘clays offered condolences to Sloot as well
Sending our continued Love to @sloot22 and the Vandersloot family. Our heart is with you, we wish you and your family the best through these trying times. The @nyliberty Fans appreciate you, they love you and are rooting for you pic.twitter.com/gtIja2mNeh— NYLFTV (@NYLibertyFanTV) June 21, 2024
Our condolences to the Vandersloot family. Courtney is officially listed as questionable.
No Cameron Brink or Azura Stevens.
The game
As the Sparks are down two bigs, they don’t have much at the center position. On Thursday, they went small and played Dearica Hamby at center for large parts of the game. Against a Liberty team that has Jonquel Jones operating at peak capacity, that’s bad, bad business. JJ had another MVP caliber outing as she had 22 points, seven rebounds, two steals, and a career high (!) eight assists before fouling out once the game was totally in hand. Jones is a matchup nightmare on both sides and forces defense to try everything possible to slow her down.
When you miss three key rotation players, everything falls on to the bench to pick up the slack. For New York, they’ve built their depth throughout the offseason and we saw it pay off in spades on Thursday. Ivana Dojkic hasn’t gotten many minutes, but she was terrific in her 25 minutes. She scored a season high 12 points, made three three pointers, and most importantly, played with a confidence that has sometimes been missing from her game. Dojkic, Leo Fiebich, and Kennedy Burke have played admirably when called upon, and as the Liberty continue to push for the postseason, Sandy Brondello will look to count on her second team to keep things going.
I was pretty surprised to see that Rickea Jackson only played 21 minutes on Thursday night. From my vantage point on press row, she didn’t play too poorly. And even if she did, she needs game reps against the best of the best to ensure she continues to learn and grow as a professional. For a Sparks team trying to find the right mix for 2025 and beyond, having Jackson learn on the job should take top priority.
Player to watch: Aari McDonald
When you’re rebuilding, you have room to try things out and give young players expanded opportunities. As the Sparks continue to find themselves and their future, For Aari McDonald, this season is a fresh start and a chance to earn herself a starting point guard position in Los Angeles. She was LA’s best player on Thursday and had the unenviable task of chasing Sabrina Ionescu up and down the court. For McDonald, this season is an extended opportunity to find her footing as a pro and see where she fits into the future of the team.
Sabrina Ionescu will look to add more bullet point to her All WNBA resume. Sab tied Cappie Pondexter for the most 30 point games in Liberty franchise history. She got there in style as she splashed a season high six three pointers. We’ve spent so much time talking about Sabrina’s ability to drive and get downhill. That’s awesome of course, and when she combines that with her lethal three point shooting, she becomes impossible to deal with.
From the Vault
Jadakiss was at the game on Thursday night, so let’s pull up some classic ‘kiss joints!
More reading: Silver Screen and Roll, Swish Appeal, The Strickland, The Local W, New York Daily News, New York Post, The Athletic. Fansided, Just Women’s Sports, SI All Knicks, Winsidr, Her Hoop Stats, CBS Sports, and The Next
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