Liberty rise over Mercury in Phoenix

New York rebounds quickly from first loss since July

August 27, 2024 By John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Though she had a rough collision in the first half, Courtney Vandersloot (center) got up and lifted the Liberty over the Mercury Monday in Phoenx. AP Photo by Ross D. Franklin

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Liberty coach Sandy Brondello was concerned with her league-leading team’s lack of urgency following Saturday’s loss to Connecticut at Downtown’s Barclays Center.

A change of venue and time zone, the return of a vital member of the rotation and Courtney Vandersloot’s most productive game of the season proved urgent enough in Phoenix Monday night.

Vandersloot scored a season-high 16 points, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton saw her first action since before the Olympic break and the Liberty used a big second half to pull away for an 84-70 victory over the Mercury in front of 10,299 fans at the Footprint Center.

“We had a couple of mishaps on defense that we weren’t connected on (in the first half),” said Vandersloot. “We came in and made the adjustments at halftime. Then, we were on the same page and I think it showed in the second half.”

The Liberty had a season high-tying eight-game winning streak snapped by the second-place Sun (22-7) in Brooklyn over the weekend, threatening their spot atop the WNBA standings and home-court advantage throughout next month’s playoffs.

“They controlled the whole game,” Brondello lamented following her team’s first loss since an 83-78 setback at Indiana on July 6, which was 10 days before the league took a month-long break for the 2024 Paris Games.

“We didn’t come out with the urgency we needed against a good team,” Brondello added.

New York (26-5) came out of the gate strong against Phoenix (16-15), rushing out to an 18-9 lead after 10 minutes. But the Mercury reeled the Liberty in during the second quarter, forging a 38-38 tie at intermission.

Liberty coach Sandy Brondello watched her team respond to its first loss in seven weeks by pulling away late for a win in Phoenix on Monday. AP Photo by Ross D. Franklin

Vandersloot, who put up 15 points against Dallas at Barclays a week ago, made sure New York didn’t suffer its first back-to-back losses since May 23-25.

She scored 10 of her points after halftime and opened the fourth quarter with a pair of key buckets.

With the Liberty clinging to a four-point lead following a series of layups by Phoenix center Brittney Griner, Vandersloot pulled up and buried a 26-footer off a feed from Laney-Hamilton.

The future Hall of Fame point guard backed it up with a 19-foot pull-up via another pass from Laney-Hamilton to stretch the advantage to 64-55 with 8:10 to play.

“You know, those moments are important,” Vandersloot noted.

Sabrina Ionescu, playing her second straight game since missing a pair with a neck injury, knocked down a 3-pointer with just over five minutes remaining to cap a 10-0 burst and give New York a 74-57 cushion.

Vandersloot finished 5-of-8 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. She also grabbed six rebounds, handed out four assists, picked up a pair of steals and blocked a shot in 25 strong minutes.

Laney-Hamilton, back on the hardwood for the first time since July 6 in Indiana after undergoing surgery on her right knee ahead of the Olympics, added nine points, three boards and three assists in 27 minutes off the bench.

After nine games without their starting forward, the Liberty were pleased to have the former All-Star back in the mix.

“It’s great to have B back,” Brondello said. “I spoke about before the game. (She’s) one of the best two-way players in the league.”

“It’s nice to have her back,” Vandersloot added. “She helps our defense so much. She really set the tone as soon as she checked in. … She looked really great.”

Reigning WNBA Most Valuable Player Breanna Stewart scored a team-high 21 points, Jonquel Jones added 15 and Ionescu had 13 for the Liberty, who extended their lead over the idle Sun to three games.

“No matter what, whether we did things right or wrong, we had each other’s backs,” Stewart said.

Griner scored a game-high 22 points and Natasha Cloud added 18 for the Mercury, who stunned New York, 99-93, at Footprint Center on June 18.

That wasn’t the case on Monday, thanks to Vandersloot’s second-half heroics, Laney-Hamilton’s return and the Liberty displaying a renewed sense of urgency to allay their coach’s pre-game concern.

“So it was getting back to our identity that allowed us to be the number one seed at the moment,” said Brondello. “That’s what we want. To stay there because we’ve done all that hard work.”

The Liberty will continue their quest for the No. 1 seed and the first championship in franchise history Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Tip-off against the Sparks is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET

Reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart scored a team-high 21 points Monday as the Liberty beat the Mercury in Phoenix. AP Photo by Ross D. Franklin

GIVE ME LIBERTY: Ionescu extended her franchise record streak of consecutive games with at least one made 3-pointer to 54. It is also the third longest streak in WNBA history. … Laney-Hamilton’s return marked her 100th career game with the Liberty. … Stewart turned 27 on Tuesday, which was a few minutes (ET) after Monday night’s game concluded in Phoenix. … After visiting L.A. on Wednesday, the Liberty will wrap up their three-game West Coast swing Friday night in Seattle. New York will return to Brooklyn on Sept. 5 to host the Storm in the completion of a home-and-home series.