Against championship level teams, the margin for error is zero. You can’t afford to make mistakes, start slow, or lose focus. When that happens, you put yourself in a hole that’s very difficult to come out of. The great teams can do it and sometimes escape with wins, but after a while it catches up to even the best teams.
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Early on, the New York Liberty were struggling to find their flow on offense. They went the entire first quarter without making a jump shot from beyond ten feet and left a lot of points on the table. However, Natasha Cloud took it upon herself to will her team back into the game. Slowly but surely, the driving lanes started to open up and the Liberty found success in the paint. Kennedy Burke, Cloud, and Marine Johannes gave the Liberty the downhill juice they needed to get back into this game at the Target Center. Their efforts got the Liberty to within five at halftime despite zero points from Emma Meesseman and three points from Sabrina Ionescu.
After the break, we saw the full idealized version of the team while Breanna Stewart is out. They continued to get downhill, the defense was making things tough on the Lynx, and most importantly, the three point shooting made its way to Minneapolis. Everything was firing on all cylinders and the Liberty looked like they were one good run away from firmly taking control of this rivalry game.
After three, New York led 61-60. It was a back and forth affair throughout the fourth as these teams showed why they’re the very best in the WNBA.
Johannès was one of six Liberty players in double figures as she helped provide some much needed scoring punch off the bench.
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“We want them to come off the bench and be aggressive,” Sabrina Ionescu said in postgame, “and they did just that. Obviously keep builidng [Kennedy Burke] up and [I] am really excited to have her back. Same with Marine. The way she came
Unfortunately for New York, the Lynx got off the mat and finished the game on a 13-7 run. Courtney Williams was excellent throughout the game and led all players in scoring with 26 points on 10-16 shooting from the field.
Target Center went bonkers in the final minute when Kayla McBride cashed in a 29 foot three pointer
“I have to go back and see how Kayla McBride was so open,” Sandy Brondello said in postgame. In watching it back, you can see a miscommunication in the back line of the defense. Leonie Fiebich and Jonquel Jones both went to the roller (Alanna Smith), which left one of the league’s best three point shooters wide open in a one possession game.
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Amazingly, the Liberty still had a chance to escape with a win. Coming into the game, McBride was shooting a league best and career high 93.8 percent from the free throw line. However, she missed two free throws inside of the final 21 seconds and left the door open for the Liberty. Down three, the Liberty designed a great play that got Natasha Cloud a driving lane to the cup and a layup she makes 99 times out of 100. Unfortunately, this was the one time she would miss, and it shut the door on the Liberty’s chances at victory. Mistakes add up and when you put them all together, it equals a heartbreaking loss.
Final score: Minnesota Lynx 86, New York Liberty 80
(Don’t) Blow the Whistle
The big discussion following the game was the free throw disparity between the two teams. The Lynx shot 33 free throws, their second highest total of the season. New York shot eight free throws, a season low. What was their season low before today? Nine… against the Minnesota Lynx on August 10. Naturally, when you see a discrepancy that large, you wonder what the opposing team thinks of such a development. The Liberty were asked about in postgame, and Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu passed on the question while Brondello jokingly asked Jones if she wanted to get fined. From there, Brondello rhetorically asked reporters if the team wasn’t driving hard enough and what they themselves thought of the discrepancy. Nobody shared what they thought.
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33-8 is incredibly loud, especially when you see plays like this late in the game
Such is life. Ionescu later added that the team will continue to stay true to their identity of driving to the lane, getting into the paint, etc.
Even with the lousy officiating, the Liberty will be the first to tell you that there were things that they could have done better throughout the game. The team missed a bevy of makeable layups on offense, had ill-timed breakdowns on defense, and didn’t do enough down the stretch to bring it home. Here, I’ll step away and pass the mic to our very own Lucas Kaplan…
When you’re the best, more is expected of you. And even for a shorthanded team like the Liberty, there’s more they can do to ensure they remain near the top of the WNBA standings.
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Next up
One more dance with Minnesota. This series shifts back to the ‘clays for a matchup on Tuesday night. Tip at 7 PM.
