After losing a thriller to the Minnesota Lynx on Saturday, the New York Liberty looked to avenge their loss, returning to the Barclays Center. New York would avenge their loss, winning 85-75, beating their rivals for the first time this season.
The game started with the Liberty getting on the board first with Jonquel Jones making a fadeaway midrange jumper. Kayla McBride would quickly respond by making a three-pointer, which would continue for the next few possessions, with neither team able to miss. New York created some separation with Sabrina Ionescu making a cutting layup after receiving a pass from Emma Meesseman. Ionescu would then make two passes, leading to layups, one going to Jonquel Jones and the other being a drop-off pass to Meesseman, giving the Liberty a 17-7 lead and forcing Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve to call a timeout due to the Lynx’s poor defensive rotations.
After the timeout, it appeared New York would continue to have all the momentum with Natasha Cloud making a pull-up three-pointer, and after Jones would get fouled on a layup attempt, she converted both free throws. But the Lynx came charging back with buckets by Natisha Heideman, Maria Kliundikova, and Dijonai Carrington, making a right corner three-pointer to cap off a Lynx 7-0 run to end the quarter.
Minnesota would build off its momentum from the end of the first quarter by forcing the Liberty to have multiple turnovers, resulting in transition opportunities. New York coach Sandy Brondello called a timeout, visibly frustrated over the Liberty’s carelessness with the ball. The next few minutes would be spent with both teams taking turns fouling each other and sending the opponent to the charity stripe. New York would break out of this with three’s by their stars Jonquel Jones and Ionescu. Ionescu, a few possessions later, would make a needle-threading pass to a cutting Meesseman for a layup and rain in a pull-up three-pointer. Giving the Liberty a 48-37 lead going into halftime.
New York would start off the second half strong with Jonquel Jones making a fadeaway midrange jumper out of the post. After the Liberty forced a turnover, it resulted in Cloud getting a layup in transition. Despite two circus shots by Heideman to beat the shot clock, New York would continue to keep Minnesota out of striking distance. After Kennedy Burke broke Alanna Smith’s ankles, making her fall to the floor, it seemed the Lynx would never get any momentum. The momentum would be snatched after Courtney Williams drew two defenders, leading to Maria Kliundikova getting an open layup. Williams then made a right-hand driving layup and a pull-up three-pointer to end the third quarter, cutting the Liberty’s lead to 66-60.
The first point of the final quarter would come from a driving layup by Kliundikova. Leonie Fiebich would pass the ball to Ionescu, who would convert a catch and shoot three from 33 feet, bringing New York’s lead up to 71-62, forcing Reeve to call a timeout. After both teams traded blows, Williams made a pull-up midrange jumper, bringing Minnesota only down 77-72. Brondello called a timeout with four minutes and some change left to go.
Coming out of the timeout, the Liberty looked recharged. Meesseman made a hook shot in the post over Carrington. Ionescu, after ripping the ball away from Bridget Carlton got off the floor hyped and ignited the crowd. After this, it seemed New York would put the game away; instead, the Lynx showed they still had more fight left in them. After missing both of her free throws, Kliundikova got her own offensive rebound, leading to Heideman making a three-pointer, cutting the Liberty’s lead down to 79-75.
Cloud would go on to get fouled and miss both free throws a few possessions later after not letting Jones exploit a mismatch in the post. Minnesota forced a shot clock violation. With the game in the balance and the Lynx refusing to give up, Ionescu would put the nail in the coffin by making a thirty-one-foot three-point bomb while getting fouled by Kliundivoka.
This victory keeps the Liberty neck in neck with the Atlanta Dream for the second-best record in the league. New York hopes to stay in the win column with the Chicago Sky coming into town on Thursday before heading into a heavyweight battle against the Dream on the road on Saturday.
