Ionescu sits, but Liberty clip Wings

Celebrate Brondello's B-day with seventh straight win

August 21, 2024 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Coach Sandy Brondello celebrated her 56th birthday with New York's seventh straight win as the Liberty beat Dallas on Tuesday. Photo by Brandon Todd/New York Liberty

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With All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu sidelined by a sore neck, the New York Liberty went out and made sure coach Sandy Brondello had a happy birthday.

League-leading New York hardly felt the absence of the reigning two-time Eastern Conference Player of the Month, rolling over the Dallas Wings, 94-74, before a sellout crowd of 11,455 in the team’s first game at Downtown’s Barclays Center following the Olympic break.

Brondello, who turned 56 Tuesday, already knew she wouldn’t have two of her starters for the Liberty’s first game in Brooklyn since July 16.

She also lost fill-in starter Leonie Fiebich to a rib injury after the forward logged just 13 minutes against the Wings (6-21) in the opener of this two-game series.

“We had to face a lot of adversity with Sabrina out and (Betnijah Laney-Hamilton) is still out,” she noted.

It didn’t make much of a difference as New York opened a 10-point lead after 10 minutes and never looked back.

Breanna Stewart scored 26 points and grabbed 12 boards and Jonquel Jones added 23 points and another dozen caroms for New York (24-4), which set a season-high in rebounds (47) for the second straight game.

“We talked about controlling the boards. JJ and I are just taking ownership of that,” said Stewart, the reigning WNBA Most Valuable Player.

Breanna Stewart and the Liberty returned to Barclays Center for the first time since July 16 on Tuesday, rolling over the Dallas Wings. Photo by Brandon Todd/New York Liberty

Without Ionescu’s long-range shooting and ball distribution available, future Hall of Fame point guard Courtney Vandersloot further displayed this team’s depth.

She set season highs with 15 points, 11 assists and six rebounds as New York extended its winning streak to seven games, one shy of the season-best run it put together from May 29-June 15.

“Her legacy is already set,” Brondello said of Vandersloot. “She’s one of the greatest point guards ever to play this game.”

Kayla Thornton started in place of Laney-Hamilton, who will be out at least another week or two while recovering from surgery on her right knee.

Thornton finished with five points and five rebounds, but it was reserve Kennedy Burke who provided a boost with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting in 25 strong minutes off the bench after Fiebich left the game early.

“Kennedy’s earned her minutes,” said Brondello of one of the Liberty’s key offseason free-agent acquisitions.

Satou Sabally, sister of Liberty center Nyara Sabally, scored 24 points for struggling Dallas (6-21), which lost its second straight since the Olympics and fell for the fifth time in six contests overall.

The Wings did draw within 69-65 early in the fourth quarter, but Jones scored half the points during New York’s ensuing 14-0 burst, opening an 18-point cushion and putting the icing on Brondello’s birthday cake.

“We’re having a lot of fun. It’s always fun when you’re winning,” Jones chuckled.

It was even more fun for Brondello, who is eager to lead this franchise to its first WNBA title in a few months no matter who is available and ready to play on this talent-rich roster.

“To win a championship you have to rely on your bench. They come in and do what they do. … They’re all important as we move forward,” she said.

Stewart gave her coach a special birthday message when asked what it was like to play for Brondello.

“She just inspires us. It’s great to have an empowering woman next to us,” she said.

Tip-off for Thursday night’s series finale at Barclays is set for 7 p.m.

Courtney Vandersloot strutted her stuff with season highs in points, rebounds and assists Tuesday night in Downtown Brooklyn. Photo by Brandon Todd/New York Liberty

GIVE ME LIBERTY: Ionescu was ruled out of Tuesday’s series opener just before tip-off. She had been dealing with neck stiffness over the weekend in Las Vegas, but put up a team-high 23 points against the Aces. Her status for Thursday’s rematch was unknown at press time. … New York is 21-0 when Jones records a double-double since her arrival here in 2023. Jones, Stewart and Vandersloot each recorded double-doubles on Tuesday, marking just the second time three players have done so in the same game in franchise history. … Following the finale of their two-game set with Dallas, the Liberty will gear up for a visit from second-place Connecticut (20-7) on Saturday night. The Sun beat Los Angeles on Tuesday to stay within 3 1/2 lengths of New York for the top seed in the WNBA playoffs.