The Liberty look superior against 10 of the 12 WNBA teams during the 2024 season. But it’s been the potential postseason matchups that have Sandy Brondello’s squad looking shaky as the league soon transitions into the playoffs.
Last week, the Libs coughed up a 20-point lead and narrowly escaped an embarrassing home loss against potential postseason second-round foe Las Vegas Aces, who were without superstar A’ja Wilson.
On Sunday, the Libs played their final regular-season matchup against the Minessota Lynx, the WNBA’s No. 2 seed, the Commissioner’s Cup champions and potential WNBA Finals opponents.
The Lynx — again — sent a message to the league’s top seed with a 88-79 victory over the Liberty on Sunday.
The win gives the Lynx a 3-1 regular-season advantage over the Liberty, including June’s Commissioner’s Cup game at UBS Arena.
And the win proves an important factor for Cheryl Reeve and her squad: The Lynx are capable of taking down the Liberty in a potential WNBA Finals matchup even without having home-court advantage in the best-of-five series.
After the loss, the Liberty are two games ahead of the Lynx in the standings with two games remaining. If the postseason began Monday, the two teams would only meet again in the final round for a shot at the WNBA title, with Games 1 and 2 being played at Barclays.
“We didn’t come out with the urgency that we would’ve liked or had expected,” Brondello said after the loss. “[Minnesota] is a very disciplined team. The way they defend, but also the way they move the ball can be a tough matchup there.
“The only great thing about [the loss] is hopefully we meet them again and [we’ll] be fresh. We can learn a lot from that.”
The Liberty trailed by as many as 26 points and attempted a fourth-quarter comeback of their own. After a first half of impressive Lynx shotmaking and Liberty mishaps, the home team buckled down with fans roaring during each possession.
A 22-6 run, led by Breanna Stewart, to start the fourth quarter cut the lead to eight with 4:39 remaining in the third.
She scored 17 of 29 Liberty points in the final period while single-handedly trying to drag the home team back.
Stewart’s free throws with 29 seconds remaining cut the lead to seven, but it was way too late in the contest.
Breanna Stewart today is the 1st player in WNBA history with 35+ PTS and 18+ REB in a game.https://t.co/92EX0cB72Q
— Across the Timeline (@WBBTimeline) September 15, 2024
“I think it’s tough to win any game with only two players in double figures,” said Sabrina Ionescu, who was the only other Liberty player to score in double digits (13 points) while dishing eight assists. Stewart eventually finished with a monster statline: a season-high 38 points, 18 rebounds and two steals. The performance made her the first player in WNBA history with a 35-point, 18-rebound performance.
Minnesota’s Bridget Carleton scored a team-high 19 points. Commissioner’s Cup MVP Napheesa Collier had 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Guard Courtney Williams finished with 15 points and five assists. Five Lynx players scored in double figures in the win. The road team shot 53% (35-of-66) from the field and 50% (9-of-18) from downtown. The Liberty were held to 39.1% (27-of-69) from the field and 28.6% (8-of-28) from deep.
“They were hitting us in all kinds of angles — inside, outside, 50-50 balls, transition, getting to the line,” Ionescu said of Minnesota. They just kind of came down and did what it is they wanted.
“Obviously we struggled offensively,” Ionescu admitted. “Credit to them. They junked things up defensively, made passes hard for us and it felt like we were kind of a little bit on our heels.”
The last time these two teams faced off in New York, the Liberty defeated the Lynx on July 2, 76-67, at Barclays Center. It was a revenge game after dropping the Commissioner’s Cup game, 94-89. The league’s screwup of having UBS Arena — and not Barclays Center — host the championship game almost overshadowed the Liberty’s shortcomings.
On Sunday, there were no such excuses. The Liberty came out flat, allowing the Lynx to go up 13 at the end of the first. Reeve’s team shot 70.6% from the field, opposed to the Liberty’s 42.9% in the opening quarter.
Errant passes and empty possessions put the Liberty in a hole early. And the Lynx were able to capitalize on the other end — even on possessions the Libs defended well.
The Liberty’s late display of a spark on their home floor is a good sign but at the end, it’s the Lynx walking off the Barclays Center hardwood with the confidence that they have what’s needed to stifle a Liberty WNBA Finals run.
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