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The New York Liberty solidified their hold on the top spot in the WNBA standings with a narrow 71-68 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday at Mohegan Sun Arena. The win improved the Liberty's record to 18-4, maintaining their edge over the second-place Sun (17-5). The teams will face each other again on Tuesday in Brooklyn, New York, before the Olympic break.
“This is a team that continues to get more connected every single day,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said, per Alexa Philippou of ESPN “I think all these experiences that we go through, in the end, are positive. Even when we lose, we learn from it. Chemistry is important for us. You have to make sure you go out there, look at the next person and know that you can trust them. We've got to execute to the best of our ability.”
The Liberty demonstrated this chemistry and resilience throughout the game. Reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart emphasized the team's growth mindset.
“I think that we're in a great place,” Stewart said. “We're at a place where we're playing high-level basketball, but we know that we haven't played our best. We haven't peaked and we also don't want to peak too soon, and we just want to continue to learn and grow.”
Sabrina Ionescu, the 2020 No. 1 draft pick, led the Liberty with 21 points, five rebounds and five assists. Her crucial basket with 4.5 seconds remaining secured the win, and she blocked Ty Harris' 3-point attempt on the Sun's last possession to seal the victory. Ionescu also hit a key floater with 1:58 remaining to put the Liberty ahead for good.
Liberty prevail over Sun
Despite scoring their fewest points in a win since August 2022, the Liberty found a way to prevail.
“Not a real high-scoring game, but we found a way to win and we got stops when we needed it,” Brondello noted. “And obviously Sabrina made a really massive shot.”
The Liberty's strategy differed from their previous game, in which they attempted 42 three-pointers in a loss to the Indiana Fever. Against the Sun, they focused on dominating the paint, outscoring Connecticut 40-26 in that area. They built a 14-point lead in the second quarter before the Sun closed the gap to one point by halftime.
“I think that's just the evolution of this team,” Ionescu said. “It's not being one-dimensional and knowing we're going to go in every single day and do the same thing, but be able to read what defenses are giving us and attack in different ways.”
The Liberty are now 13-0 when leading at halftime this season, the only unbeaten team in such situations.
“I think it's a testament to just our commitment,” Ionescu added. “They went on runs, we went on runs, and we really stayed poised. And I think that's a huge part as to why we won.”
Connecticut was led by DeWanna Bonner's 22 points and Brionna Jones' 17 points. Despite doubling the Liberty’s three-point total with six treys, the Sun fell short in the final minutes, unable to score in the last 2:11.
The Liberty played without Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who is dealing with a knee issue, but are hopeful for her return in their next game against the Chicago Sky. They will then travel to Chicago for a rematch on Saturday.
