New York Liberty get shelled by Phoenix Mercury, 106-91

The Liberty simply didn’t bring it on Friday night, and as they should’ve already known, Phoenix is not the squad to do that against.

Let Head Coach Sandy Brondello take you through the New York Liberty’s loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Friday night.

“Well, we didn’t execute our game plan in the beginning cause we weren’t in the right places, we weren’t supposed to play as soft as we did and have no toughness on defense. We didn’t make them feel uncomfortable one bit.”

She continued later: “I think we went away from what our strength is. Our strength is, we’re doing things together. So it’s disappointing, so we’ve gotta — and I’m not making excuses, I don’t care who’s not with us. You know, I don’t care. Okay, they’re not going to save us here.”

That part is certainly true. Though New York was once again missing Jonquel Jones (ankle) and Leonie Fiebich (EuroBasket) for the third leg of their four-game road trip, the problem wasn’t a talent gap. It was an effort and execution gap.

The Mercury shot 18-of-39 from three, and while a few of those makes were just laughable, it wasn’t just bad luck. The Liberty let Sami Whitcomb and the gang see a few go through early…

What they had largely done well in their previous contest against the Valkyries, the Liberty could not accomplish on Friday. Defenders often didn’t step up to the level of the screen on switches, as in the above clip, or they didn’t know who to guard off the ball.

In a banner night for the Sabally sisters, Satou would score 25 points and make seven 3-pointers. In postgame, Brondello admitted that the Mercury are a great team — and they indeed seem to be great in 2025 — “but we got to be learners out on the floor too. Like, Satou has seven threes, somebody’s gotta guard her.”

New York didn’t exactly lay down. They trailed by 18 in the first half, then cut it to seven before Phoenix pumped the margin up to 19 in the second half.

The sea foam once again cut it to single digits, but then lost Sabally twice for 3-pointers, going under a screen and then simply forgetting about her in transition. Nighty-night.

“I think coach just harped on it enough about the disappointment in our effort,” said Natasha Cloud postgame. “That’s just what it is. It comes down to effort. It doesn’t matter schemes. It doesn’t matter X’s and O’s.”

It was a step in the right direction for Cloud on the other end of the floor, who, like many of her teammates, played a fine offensive game with 14 points and 7 assists. She was one of six double-digit scorers, as Breanna Stewart (17) and Nyara Sabally (career-high 16) led the way. After Phoenix hammered them at Barclays Center with an aggressive, trap-heavy defense, New York seemed prepared for it this time, scoring 46 points in the paint…

When asked about any offensive struggles postgame, Brondello shrugged off the premise: “I mean, we shot 51%. It was an offensive game. We made 91.”

Sabrina Ionescu, dealing with neck stiffness, scored just nine points on 2-of-9, but it didn’t have far-ranging consequences for her teammates. Marine Johannès stepped up with a barrage of threes in the first half to help keep the game tight…

Marine’s 3-point barrages have the power to shell-shock opponents. Becky Hammon called her an “assassin” off the bench after the Commissioner’s Cup in 2023, when the New York Liberty beat her Las Vegas Aces, with Johannès going off.

But the key for the almost-dynastic Liberty during this run has always been their defense. Even when they came up short in the 2023 WNBA Finals, their defense kept them in the low-scoring Game 4. Same with their preposterously ugly, championship-clinching Game 5 victory over the Minnesota Lynx.

They didn’t have Jones and Fiebich on Friday night, but they still put together some eye-widening offensive sequences. And yet, Phoenix spaced the floor and let Alyssa Thomas go to town in the middle of it, as AT put up a ridiculous 17/9/15 line. She made plenty of decisions for the Mercury, and they were all the right ones…

Four losses in six games is such an aberration for this iteration of the Liberty it may cause real agitation. But they’re still 11-4. And as much as Sandy Brondello may not want to hear it, Jonquel Jones’ eventual return is really the only thing between them and championship vibes once more…

But they got stomped on Friday night, and they deserved it. No two ways about it.

The standard is and should be higher for the defending champions, who have now twice lost to the Mercury. A win in their next game — the last of the road trip — can quell this sour taste.

It’s also a long season, and this happens. It’s up to the beholder what to make of Friday night’s uninspiring loss.

Final Score: Phoenix Mercury 106, New York Liberty 91

Photo by Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images

The cap to this road trip is no picnic. The New York Liberty, without much rest, will fly across the country to face the Atlanta Dream on Sunday afternoon. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET.