With all-star weekend quickly approaching, the New York Liberty wanted to head into the break on the right note. Coming into this game it didn’t seem easy with the 12-10 Indiana Fever on a three game win streak heading into Barclays Center. But the Liberty would end up overwhelming the Fever winning 98-77.
This bout started with the Fever getting on the board first from a Natasha Howard post hook in the first fifty-eight seconds of the contest. Natasha Cloud quickly responded, making a pull-up three-pointer. Both teams would begin trading blows, with neither team being able to create separation. Then a three-play sequence involving Sabrina Ionescu making a three off the dribble in the right corner over a great contest from Aliyah Boston. Nyara Sabally blocked Aliyah Boston’s layup attempt, then Breanna Stewart would get the rebound and hit an ahead pass to Leonie Fiebich for a layup in transition. Then, after getting a defensive stop, Breanna Stewart again grabs the rebound and passes it to Natasha Cloud, who goes coast to coast for a layup. Giving the liberty the separation they were searching for, going up seven points. Fever coach Stephanie White called a timeout after the Cloud layup, with the Liberty getting a seven-point lead, creating their first real separation of the game.
After the timeout, Kelsey Mitchell attempted to calm the Fever down by making a pull-up three-pointer. The Liberty would respond with two threes of their own, with one coming from Isabelle Harrison after getting the shooter’s bounce and Sabrina Ionescu making a three in transition off a Breanna Stewart pass. The Liberty ended the first quarter strong with Sabrina Ionescu making a difficult reverse layup despite dealing with a lot of contact from Lexie Hull, giving New York a 32-24 lead to end the first quarter.
For most of the second quarter, Indiana was trying to just get back in striking distance, with eleven points being the lowest they cut the Liberty’s lead down to. They could’ve cut it down even more, but they couldn’t get out of their own way. They went on a stretch over four minutes where they went scoreless, which included them missing multiple wide-open layups at point-blank range. Combined with New York staying in a groove offensively, the Fever found themselves down fifteen points at halftime with the Liberty having a 53-38 lead.
Breanna Stewart started the third quarter getting an open layup after cutting off-ball. Aliyah Boston immediately responded, making a midrange jumper for her first field goal of the game. After this, Breanna Stewart turned it up a notch, blocking Natasha Howard, then displaying her and Sabrina Ionescu’s chemistry with Ionescu making a pass perfectly in sync with Stewart’s back-door cut, resulting in an open layup. Brenna Stewart used her long wingspan to get in the passing lane, forcing Sydney Colson into a turnover, leading to Stewart making a and-one layup in transition. The floodgates would then open after Marine Johannes made a catch and shoot three from the right corner, bringing New York’s lead up to twenty-six points and capping off an 11-3 run for the Liberty, forcing Stephanie White to call a timeout in anger, seeing the game was going off the rails.
But the Fever fought back with Aari McDonald stealing a Breanna Stewart pass, then walking into a pull-up three-pointer in transition. Makayla Timpson makes a great block on an Isabelle Harrison floater attempt. Damiris Dantas, after grabbing an offensive rebound, makes a fadeaway midrange jumper, ending a Fever 9-0 run to close the third quarter and cutting down New York’s lead to seventeen points.
The Liberty, after faltering to close the third, would get back on track by forcing Indiana to have a shot clock violation to start the fourth quarter. Sabriana Ionessu would fit a pass just right through a small window to Natasha Cloud, who made a three-pointer in the left corner. Brenna Stwetart made a tip pass to Nyara Sabally, creating an open midrange jumper for Sabally that she converted, bringing New York’s lead up to twenty points. Rebekah Gardner stole the ball from Aari McDonald. She passed it to Marine Johannes, who made a three in transition, capping off a Liberty 13-2 run, bringing their lead to twenty-seven points, putting the exclamation point on this game.
New York, with this victory, heads into the All-Star break on a three-game win streak, reaching a record of 15-6, claiming the best record in the Eastern Conference and jumping the Phoenix Mercury for the second-best record in the league.
