On Tuesday, the New York Liberty faced off against the Seattle Storm.
And although the Liberty held the advantage as the top seed in the east, versus the Storm’s last-place spot in the west, the Liberty trailed for most of the game and found themselves trying to cut into an 18-point deficit by the third quarter.
In the first half, it was all Seattle Storm, as they came out hot, going on runs to force Liberty to take timeouts and making Liberty struggle to shoot the ball. Jewell Loyd led the charge, knocking down five threes to tally an impressive 22 points in the first half alone.
However, Sabrina Ionescu's struggles with shooting (1-8) were compensated by her tenacious effort on the boards, securing ten rebounds by halftime. Ionescu had a career-high on offensive rebounds, securing 6.
The Liberty struggled with their shooting, hitting only 31.8% from the field, giving the Storm a 45-35 lead at the end of the first half.
"This is a long game; we just have to keep competing," said Coach Sandy Brondello during halftime. "Slow down; we are sprinting … I like 3s, but not when you are making 5/23."
Marine Johannes finished with all 10 of Liberty's points off the bench: "Marine played huge for us off the bench," Ionescu said.
Seattle came out again strong during the second half, as they went on a 7-0 run early in the third. The Liberty had to call a timeout to regroup.
The momentum finally shifted for the Liberty after the time out when the team went on a 10-point run aided by Jonquel Jones’s active defensive hands and Courtney Vandersloot getting steals and pushing the break — forcing Seattle to call their own time out.
Jones finished the game with an impressive 13 points and 17 rebounds.
Ezi Magbegor's performance in the second half kept the Storm ahead for a while finishing with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Liberty closed the gap with a 19-8 run to end the third quarter.
The fourth quarter witnessed an intense back-and-forth battle, with both teams exchanging leads. Sabrina Ionescu showcased her all-around skills, notching an impressive triple-double of 12 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.
As the final minutes ticked away, the Liberty players maintained their composure and executed well, hitting crucial free throws and playing stout defense to secure the 86-82 victory.
Betnijah Laney for Liberty finished with an efficient 19 points on an 8-11 shooting performance. Breanna Stewart led the Storm with 22 points. And while Jewell Loyd for the Seattle Storm had an impressive 32-point outing, it was not enough to take the top east seed down.
"This is a big win for us. We dug ourselves out of that hole," said Brondello post-game.
Liberty makes history as this is the franchise's best record start to a season. Liberty will be back in action on Thursday, July 27, at 7:00pm against Atlanta Dream.
