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The New York Liberty saw their four-game undefeated streak come to a screeching halt on Sunday when they squandered a huge lead and fell prey to the Chicago Sky at home, 86-82. Following the game, New York head coach Sandy Brondello lamented his team's loss which was made even more painful by the fact that her team had a 19-point lead in the second half .
“Hopefully this is a wake-up. Some players need to wake up a little bit more. We went away from what worked for us,” Brondello said of his Liberty squad (h/t the Associated Press). “Our shot profile was terrible. We don't find ways to get [Breanna Stewart] touches. We just didn't play tough enough. Disappointing, but the film won't lie. So we've got to use it as a learning opportunity now.”
Stewart led the Liberty with 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field with 11 rebounds and four assists, while Courtney Vandersloot chipped in 18 points. As a team, New York shot just 44.6 percent from the field. Brondello wished her team got Stewart more chances at higher-percentage shots instead of just settling with long-range attempts. New York hit just six of its 25 tries from behind the arc, with Betnijah Laney and Sabrina Ionescu combining for zero 3-pointers on seven attempts. New York outscored the Sky in the paint by a huge margin, 52-32, so the Liberty's insistence on hoisting shots from deep on a day that they clearly did not have it frustrated Brondello.
The Liberty will get a much-needed rest for the next two days before hitting the court again on Wednesday when they host the Minnesota Lynx at Barclays Center.
