Liberty's season ends with loss to Chicago Sky
Betnijah Laney of the Liberty is guarded by Candace Parker of the Sky during their WNBA playoff game at Barclays Center on Tuesday. Credit: Errol Anderson
The positives are that their season lasted longer than the Knicks’ and they won one more playoff game than the Nets.
The negatives are that there will not be another game this season. There will not be another chance to improve until training camp.
Those are the realities that the Liberty will take with them into an offseason after losing a winner-take-all Game 3 of the WNBA first round playoff series, 90-72, to the Chicago Sky Tuesday night at Barclays Center.
“We’re competing against the best,” Sandy Brondello said after the game. “That gives you an [idea] where you think you are [and] what you need to get better at.”
The Liberty lost the series two games to one
The last time the Liberty won a playoff round was 2017.
Factoring in the regular season, the Liberty compiled a 17-22 record in 2022. Yet Brondello believes this now-completed season could be viewed through the prism of laying a foundation for the future.
“This is the beginning of something,” Brondello said before the first home playoff game in five years. “We want more. We want sustainable success. We want to win a championship. We want to make sure we’re bringing all these fans back into this arena.”
Coming off a historic 100-62 rout of the Liberty in Game 2 — the 38-point margin of defeat was the biggest in league history — Sky coach and GM James Wade said during his pregame availability he expected Brondello to have implemented adjustments in order for her team to better attack the reigning champions’ pressure defense.
Over the course of 40 minutes the league’s newly minted Executive of the Year’s belief system was proved to be both right and wrong. While the Liberty were not the mistake-filled team that took the court Saturday afternoon, they also revealed themselves to be what they are: a young group trying to climb into the WNBA’s upper echelon.
The Sky had six players finish in double figures, led by Allie Quigley and Kahleah Copper who had 15 points apiece. Courtney Vandersloot and Candace Parker each finished with 14. Emma Meesseman and Azura Stevens both added 12 points.
By comparison, the Liberty only had three players finish in double figures. Betnijah Laney had a team-high 15. Natasha Howard recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu had 14.
Chicago shot 48% (36-for-75) from the field, and outscored the Liberty in the paint (46-40), on the fast break (21-5), and had a 14-9 advantage in second chance points.
“It’s going to take a team to come out and win,” Laney said.
And as important as scoring is, so too are the less aesthetically pleasing aspects of the game. And the Liberty came up short as they committed 16 turnovers to Chicago’s seven and were outrebounded 39-33.
And yet, they found themselves with a chance to extend their season. The Liberty opened the fourth quarter with a 7-0 spurt to cut a 68-58 deficit to 68-65. That was as close as they would come.
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