Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart drive Liberty past Seattle

This is not going to be easy. Rather, it is going to be a work in progress.

Those words essentially summarize Sandy Brondello’s views about the 2023 Liberty, following their 80-76 win over Seattle Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center.

“If you expect we should [come] out and win every game, it’s not going to happen,” Brondello said after the Liberty improved to 13-4 with their third straight victory. 

Breanna Stewart led all scorers with 25 points, and grabbed eight rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu, who along with Courtney Vandersloot was selected by Stewart to be on the All-Star team before the game, knocked down six three-pointers on her way to a 20-point performance. 

“We’re just going to keep growing with all these games,” Brondello said.

The third of four regular season games against Seattle was decidedly not an exhibition of crisp basketball. Which for a Storm (4-14) squad that came into the contest with the second-worst record in the WNBA, was not unexpected.

But for the Liberty, who have championship aspirations after acquiring Stewart and Vandersloot in the offseason, what concerned them was the fact they were out-rebounded 48-30 by Seattle.

“They out-rebounded the [expletive] out of us,” Stewart said. 

Indeed. Nor was it optimal that the Liberty shot 27-for-66 from the field (40.9%). But having the two best players on the court was to their benefit. Specifically in the fourth quarter.

Ionescu and Stewart combined to score 14 of the Liberty’s 20 points in the final quarter. Ionescu’s two made free throws with 17.1 seconds left gave the Liberty their margin of victory.

“These last couple games I feel like we’ve continued to find different ways to score and that’s super important,” Ionescu said. “We continue to push the ball offensively and get in actions; get the ball in people’s hands that we know can make shots . . . Day by day, we’re going to continue to put these four quarters together and continue to grow.”   

But teams grow when they are fully intact. Which the Liberty are not. During her pregame availability, Brondello said there is not a timetable for Stefanie Dolson to return from a sprained right ankle but the reserve center will “do some light shooting,” next week and “is ahead of schedule.” However, Han Xu has been dealing with an undisclosed foot injury since the start of training camp, and organizational decision-makers have determined that the center rest. There also is not a timetable for her to resume basketball activities.