According to their coach Sandy Brondello, this was their worst performance of the season. Seeded No. 2, the New York Liberty was beaten at home (63-78) by its pursuer in the standings, the Connecticut Sun, during the first round of the semi-final of the playoffs.
A remarkable performance in the bad sense of the word for the New Yorkers, limited to 63 points scored with poor levels of skill: 34% on shots, including 30% from distance. Like her teammate and first offensive option of the team Breanna Stewart (19 points on 7/25 shots, including 0/8 on 3), Marine Johannes came close (2 points to 1/4 in 14 minutes).
“ They were aggressive, they put obstacles in our way, but I don’t think we handled the situation well. We lost our calm. It’s a little frustrating to lose this match at home, but we will bounce back “, promises the first mentioneddouble WNBA champion, who did not convert a single winning shot (0/8 for her and 8/27 for her team).
On the Connecticut side, Coach of The Year Stephanie White is pleased to have seen “ probably the most consistent 40 minutes we’ve played so far this year “. Driven by DeWanna Bonner’s 20 points or Rebecca Allen’s 18 points (career record), her team made the difference in the third quarter (28-15), after being down by one possession at the break. .
Rebound in Game 2
She was especially intractable in defense in the final period, won by an excessively low score (13-8!). “ They have such offensive power that we had to make it as difficult for them as possible, and I had the impression that our team really committed to that today. », can appreciate White, whose team had lost four times this season, in as many matches, against Liberty.
“ My message is: ‘OK, we just lost at home, we can’t lose twice at home. That’s all. That’s what it comes down to. We have to win the next match. […] We have great players, we have to react correctly. It’s a great challenge for us », Qualifies Brondello, whose Liberty will try to equalize on Tuesday in this series which is played as a best of five games.
Note that in the other series, the Las Vegas Aces won their first match against the Dallas Wings (97-83) behind the 34 points of the inevitable A’ja Wilson.
