New York Liberty Shaky Start Turns Into Thriller Ending

New York Liberty Shaky Start Turns Into Thriller Ending

By John “Woods” Armwood III 

Sunday evening, the New York Liberty (29-6) remain unfazed by tough opponents that come into the Barclays, as they defeated the ranked No.4 and defending WNBA champs the Las Vegas Aces, 75-.71. Opening week on NFL Sunday still resulted in another sold-out crowd for the New York Liberty. This speaks volumes about where the women’s game has grown and where it’s continuing to build. Despite the two-time MVP Aja Wilson being unable to suit up, the overall game was a complete thriller and had valuable lessons learned from both sides. Sadly, it was announced minutes before tip-off and Wilson entered the arena with a boot on. That said, it’s no secret that neither team is fond of one another, however they respect each other greatly as competitors. 

“We know how to take a hit, I was proud of the way they battled,” Aces head coach Becky Hammon stated after being asked about her team’s resiliency. “Throughout the game, you have opportunities to fall apart and they didn’t, so I give my team a lot of credit for their fight and sticking together when it got ugly. …We still found ourselves in a position to win the game, so I‘m pretty pleased overall with the effort.”

Opening quarter, the Aces began off red hot and shot six for seven from beyond the arch. Unfortunately, the Aces began to cool down midway through the first and that’s where the Liberty began to find their rhythm. The absence of Wilson was felt greatly as the Liberty exploited the paint against the Aces. The All-Star center Jonquel Jones recorded 15 points and eight rebounds by utilizing her huge frame and gifted shooting ability. Despite multiple players succeeding in the paint, oddly the shooting of the Liberty was absent. They shot an uncharacteristic 20.8% from the three. 

“We have to help ourselves in some of these situations, but today we missed Aja’s rim protection a lot,” Hammon continued.

New York Liberty's Biggest Takeaway

Despite winning the game, the Liberty gained something priceless leading into the playoffs. A valuable lesson learned y the team was the ability to stay together. There were moments where the game could’ve slipped away, however the Liberty rallied together and relied and trusted on their teammates to make key plays late in the game. Especially, in the closing minutes of the game, Jones steps up to play Aces guard Kelsey Plum for the determining bucket and the Liberty decided to not send help defense. This resulted in a Jones block, however with the abilities of Plum it could’ve easily turned into crucial points for the Aces.

“Absolutely, because everything’s not going to be easy,” Liberty forward Kayla Thornton stated. “That makes you realize what you have to do to win, you can be up but all of a sudden they can come back. …I think it makes us prepared to understand what we have to do, but I loved that we stayed consistent and we stayed together. That was the most important thing to this victory.”

Moving forward, the Liberty will have to rely on togetherness as it appeared All-Star guard Benijah Laney-Hamilton suffered a knee injury that sidelined her for the remainder of the game. There are no updates yet on her knee, nonetheless this will be detrimental no matter the circumstances. The Liberty will be forced to step up and play as unit in order to have a successful playoff run. 

What’s Next for the Liberty and Aces?

Tuesday night, the Liberty will take on the Dallas Wings (9-26) on the road. The Aces will take on the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night. Both teams are walking away from this game with lessons learned. After the game, Alysha Clark explained that no lead is safe in the WNBA and the importance of playing together.

“No lead is safe in this league, this league is just too good. The moment someone thinks that is the moment that trouble sets in. For us, whether we’re up 20 or down 20 our goal is to make sure we’re continuing to keep our foot on the gas.”

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