The New Yorkers had not been invited to this stage of the competition since 2002. By winning down to the wire (87-84) the fourth round on the Connecticut floor, the Liberty thus finished the series (3-1) and qualified for the WNBA final, where the defending champions, the Aces, await.
“ The fact that Liberty hasn’t been to a final since 2002 is incredible. And being able to go there and know that the whole city is behind us is something really special », can enthuse Breanna Stewart, recently elected MVP, the best scorer of the match (27 points on 9/20 shooting, 9 rebounds).
The star of the team was very well supported by Jonquel Jones (25 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks) and Betnijah Laney (21 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists).
Opposite, Alyssa Thomas, second in the race for the best player of the season trophy, gave everything she had by signing her first triple-double in the playoffs (17 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists).
But they and their teammates, despite a number of 3-point baskets at the end of the game to maintain hope, accumulated too many defensive errors. In money time, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones both took advantage of poor communication on the pick-and-roll to benefit from very open shots behind the arc.
Fifth qualification for the final
We recall that Connecticut, which had a last possession to equalize but was not able to generate a winning shot, had won the first round of this series, away. An inaugural success before losing the next three games.
It should be noted that, in this elimination round, Sandy Brondello reduced her rotations as much as possible since all the players in her five played 37 minutes or more, including the entire match for Breanna Stewart and Betnijah Laney. Marine Johannès did not come into play, for the first time in the series. She had played 17 minutes in the previous match (3 points to 1/3 shooting).
His team will now face the formidable Aces, led by the immense A’ja Wilson, in what many consider to be a clash between two “Super Teams”.
“ I think that’s what everyone wanted initially. I didn’t particularly like this notion of “Super Team”, but you know which players it is. We followed a process to get to this point and I think it will be a great series », Imagines Sandy Brondello.
This WNBA final starts next Sunday in Las Vegas and will be played in the best of five rounds. The Liberty, despite four appearances (1997, 1999, 2000 and 2002) at this level of competition, has never won the title.
