Sunday afternoon, everything came together for a very nice poster in the WNBA. And the least we can say is that we were not disappointed. However, the New York Liberty players did not seem to have woken up from a nap at the start of the meeting. Indeed, they completely missed their start by missing their first nine shots and conceding a 13-0 entry. Result: Sabrina Ionescu’s Liberty was up to 17 points behind in the first quarter, and even concluded this first act with an odious 3/17 in shooting.
Nonetheless, New York hung on to be just six points behind at halftime, despite shooting just 33%. But on returning from the locker room, the meeting will take a completely different turn, and the Liberty will manage to turn the tide to overcome the Mystics, after extra time (89-88).
“I told them to wake up. We didn’t execute anything. We weren’t playing. They were in front and more competitive than us., said Sandy Brondello, coach of the team. “The moment we got closer to each other was probably the third quarter. The start of the third quarter was the most important moment. We said to ourselves: ‘OK, the first half is behind us’. That’s how we’re going to react.”
Thank you Sabrina!
In one of the rare times where Breanna Stewart totally got through her subject (4/17 shooting), the New York Liberty relied on Sabrina Ionescu, who notably caught fire at long range. The leader was the main protagonist of her team’s comeback with 31 points at 7/12 from 3-point range, including several “clutch” baskets!
“We stayed united. We mostly withstood the storm of the first quarter. In the past, this team has often collapsed. But we understand that we play for each other… It says a lot about the chemistry we are building”said Sabrina Ionescu. “Even when we were trailing in the fourth quarter, we were confident we could do it. And that we could do it. And that continued in overtime.”
Although this is a new group of players, the New York Liberty are on the rise with a fifth win in the last six games. With 9 wins for 3 losses, Breanna Stewart’s teammates have the 3rd best record in the league. In addition, the next two meetings will be against the two best WNBA teams. Tuesday, Marine Johannès (3 points yesterday) and her comrades will go to the floor of the Connecticut Sun (12-3) before going to challenge the Las Vegas Aces (12-1) on Thursday.
