Liberty's second-half rally  tops Sparks

The Liberty's growth has not been  linear.  

Rather it has been experienced in fits and starts. But the final result could be worth all the pain.

The Liberty used a second-half rally to outlast the Los Angeles Sparks, 64-61, Wednesday night at Barclays Center.

“This game was not pretty,” said Natasha Howard after the Liberty’s third straight win and fourth-out-of-five, all at home. “It came down to the wire and at the end of the day we [stayed] together.”

And that is a significant character trait for a team in a playoff race. The Liberty (13-18) have five games remaining this season and are one of six teams trying to earn one of the final three slots  in the upcoming WNBA playoffs. 

Their next four games are on the road before ending the regular season Aug. 14 at home against Atlanta. The Liberty are 5-9 away from Barclays this season.  

So they now head out on a season-defining  trip brimming with confidence. Which should be expected after outscoring the Sparks (12-19) 17-6 over the final eight minutes of the game to take the regular season series 2-1. 

Sabrina Ionescu led the comeback, scoring eight of her 20 points in the final 2:18, including a pullup jumper with 6.8 seconds that put the game away. 

“We played many games like this early in the season and lost,” Ionescu said. “It just shows the resilience and growth from this team.”

During her pregame availability with reporters, Liberty coach Sandy Brondello acknowledged the unusual nature of the back-to-back but stressed it would not affect her team’s approach to the game.

“We only had video,” Brondello said. “We came in and they got their treatment; it was more about rest.”

Ironically, the Liberty looked like a tired team when the game began as they spotted the Sparks a 24-8 first quarter lead. The Liberty struggled to get into their offensive sets, and movement was non-existent. Defensively, the Sparks were able to exploit seams to get to the rim for layups.  

Midway through the third quarter the deficit grew to 50-35, which prompted Brondello to go with a lineup of Howard, Ionescu, Han Xu, Marine Johannes and Sami Whitcomb. And that unit gave the Liberty a spark as they authored a 10-0 run to end the quarter. 

“I was just trying to get a spread look to be quite honest,” Brondello said afterward. “That gave us a little bit of momentum.”