The Liberty are back home after a terrible road trip. It won’t be for long as they host the Dallas Wings before getting back on the road.
Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images
A win that was needed in the absolute worst way. The New York Liberty entered Sunday’s game against the Connecticut Sun riding a four game losing streak and feeling pretty exhausted. They fought through the fatigue and ended their trip on a happy note with an 87-78 victory.
The opponent tonight is figuring things out. The Dallas Wings are trying to figure things out, and they’ve had a rough go of it. They lost to the Indiana Fever 88-78 on Friday night and have been off for the past few days.
Where to follow the game
FOX 5 on TV. Liberty Live and FOX Local on streaming. NBATV and League Pass for the out of towners. Tip after 7 PM on Tuesday night at Barclays Center.
Injuries
No Breanna Stewart, Kennedy Burke, or Nyara Sabally.
Ty Harris is out for the season. Maddy Siegrist missed Friday’s game due to a knee injury. No word on her status at this time. Myisha Hines-Allen left Friday’s game with an ankle injury. No word on her status either.
The game
Dallas won the first meeting.
The Wings decided to shake things up on Sunday morning. They traded Dijonai Carrington to the Minnesota Lynx for Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson, and a 2027 draft pick. For Dallas, they continue their youth movement and make the most out of what’s been a rough season.
Emma Meesseman has taken to the Liberty perfectly. Big Meesse scored all 11 of her points after halftime and played a smidge above her expected minutes total of 15. As she continues to get acclimated with her team, we’ll see her minutes total increase. The Liberty don’t have many practice days for her to fully get comfortable, so everyone’s gonna have to learn on the fly here.
It’s always a surprise when you bench a star late. Even more surprising when you bench them for an entire fourth quarter. Wings coach Chris Koclanes explained that he left Arike Ogunbowale on the bench Friday night as he felt the five on the court had momentum and got the team back into the game. Be that as it may, it’s a tough thing to leave your star on the bench like that late. If this game is close coming down the stretch, will he do it again? We’ll see.
In the meantime, the Liberty will look to make things a lot harder on Arike. She picked up a career high 14 assists against the Liberty last week as she was able to consistently take advantage of poor New York defense and hit her teammates in perfect spots.
Because the Liberty are so shorthanded, Leonie Fiebich can’t afford to take a game off. But she could really use a game off. Leo shot under 40 percent for the fourth straight game on Sunday, and she’s looking pretty beat up. In postgame on Friday, Sandy Brondello acknowledged that Fiebich is a bit tired and playing through a hand injury. With Rebekah Gardner playing well in her spot minutes and with Steph Talbot and Marine Johannès in tow, I wonder if there’s an opportunity to sit her down for a game so she can completely rest up.
Player to watch: Paige Bueckers
It’s been one heck of a rookie season for the UCONN legend. She missed some time due to a concussion, but she’s back and looking like an All-WNBA team candidate. PB is averaging a very good 18.5 points on .454/.341/.865 shooting splits in 34 minutes a night. With some new teammates coming in, we’ll see how she gets acclimated to their styles. Bueckers has been everything you could ask for as a number one pick and if she continues on this trajectory, the Wings will be competing for a playoff spot sooner than we know it.
Sabrina Ionescu has carried the Liberty since the All-Star break. Sab leads the WNBA in scoring at 25.6 points per game since the break on .504/.327/.917 shooting splits. Something I loved about her game on Sunday was how she consistently hunted shots in the midrange and painted area. Being a true three level scorer opens up so many possibilities and when she doesn’t settle, she becomes an even greater player. Sab is making a beeline for the All-WNBA first team, and it would be an incredibly well deserved honor.
From the Vault
On Thursday, And Just Like That will be concluding its run. It’s always a good time to visit the ladies of Sex and the City, so that’s what we’re gonna do!
More reading: Mavs Moneyball, Words on Wings, Swish Appeal, Breakaway, SB Nation, Women’s Basketball Roundup, The Local W, New York Daily News, No Cap Space, New York Post, The Athletic, NY Liberty Fan TV, Fansided, Just Women’s Sports, Winsidr, Her Hoop Stats, Yahoo Sports, ESPN, CBS Sports, and The Next