The Liberty’s first road game of the 2022 season ended with the bearers of seafoam on the wrong end of a 33-point decision.
CHICAGO-The New York Liberty became the first victims of the Chicago Sky’s WNBA title defense on Wednesday night, landing on the wrong end of an 83-50 final at Wintrust Arena. Four players reached double-figures for the victorious hosts, as Dana Evans led with the way with 15 points.
“We played poorly. Always be honest in that regard,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said in the postgame aftermath. “It starts with me, obviously, just not preparing them. I thought we had a great preparation but they came out and I just didn’t think we had a really good rhythm. We can’t have those games.”
Chicago’s wire-to-wire victory was not only a rude awakening for a Liberty team looking to build off last Saturday’s thrilling win over Connecticut but it was also a tough homecoming for Stefanie Dolson. The veteran newcomer spent the previous five seasons in Chicago and played a vital role in the team’s run to their first WNBA championship last season.
The Liberty’s visit was doomed from the start, as the Sky jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. That instant advantage became a two-point game thanks to a Liberty spurt shortly after Chicago scored the contest’s first seven points, but that would be as close as it got the rest of the way. Anchored by a defensive performance that limited the Liberty (1-1) to 20 percent shooting in the first half, the Sky (1-1) built up a 19-point lead at the halftime break. Chicago rookie Rebekah Gardner impressed in her WNBA debut, scoring 10 in the opening half on 5-of-6 shooting. The UCLA alumna, battling former collegiate teammate and 2021 Rookie of the Year Michaela Onyenwere, wound up with 14 points total, joining Evans, Candace Parker (11), and Emma Meeseman (10) in the sisterhood of double figures.
“She had no fear. She’s had about two days with the team, but that didn’t hamper her in any way,” Brondello said of Gardner’s performance. “She was a real handful…she’s really going to help them with it another scoring punch.”
Limited to 17 points in the first half, the Liberty got small bit of traction going by shooting 6-of-13 in the third quarter. But even their attempts to make the score look respectable went by the wayside, as the Sky scored a game-high 28 in the final frame to create the final margin.
The Liberty shot only 20-of-60 (33 percent) from the field and visited the foul line only nine times. They were once again limited to a shortahnded rotation, as DiDi Richards (right hamstring) missed her second consecutive game while Asia (AD) Durr was held out due to an illness. Laney partook in her first game after missing Saturday’s opener with a knee injury, putting in eight points (4-of-12 from the field) and six assists.
Brondello hoped that Wednesday’s debacle could serve as a learning experience as the Liberty seek to inch their way back toward the upper half of the WNBA standings.
“When things aren’t going our way, what do we need to do?” Brondello rhetorically asked when queried about the biggest hopeful lesson from Wednesday. “We can always rely on our defense, (but) I think our our lack of offense affected our defensive execution as well, too. We got to be a little bit more grittier. We missed some wide open looks. We can’t allow makes and misses to mess with our confidence.”
New York’s brightest silver lining was Han Xu, who partook in her first WNBA action in 796 calendar days. Han was the only Liberty rep to reach double-figures, putting in 10 points (3-of-4 from the field) in just over nine minutes of action, all coming in the second half.
“I think she was great. She came in she stayed ready, she came in and gave us some great bench points,” Laney said of her new teammate’s season debut. “She was active on both ends of the floor, so her effort was amazing.”
The Liberty and Sky will once again do battle on June 12, when the latter visits Brooklyn for a Sunday matinee.
Stars of the Game
3rd Star: Jocelyn Willoughby
9 points (4-of-8 FG)
2nd Star: Stefanie Dolson
6 points (3-of-5 FG), 6 rebounds
1st Star: Han Xu
10 points (3-of-4 FG, 1-of-1 3-pt FG), 1 assist
Honorable Mentions
- Betnijah Laney (8 points, 6 assists)
- Lorela Cubaj (5 rebounds)
Up Next
The Liberty won’t have to wait long for a chance at recemption, as they’ll open a three-game homestand on Friday night against the Indiana Fever in Brooklyn (8 p.m. ET, YES). Indiana (1-2) earned its first win of the season on Tuesday night, topping Minnesota 82-76 at home. The Liberty took two of the three meetings between the two sides last season, the first being the 2021 season opener capped off by Sabrina Ionescu’s buzzer-beating winner.
“We were bad today, so we’re going to come back, we’re going to look at the film, we’re going to see all the things that you know we need to improve upon and also focus on the things that went well,” Laney said, citing the bench players’ effort and their sporadic defensive execution as the positives to take away from Wednesday. “I hadn’t played in a while, still continuing to get to get healthy. (We’re) just staying patient, just understanding that it is a process and continuing to work to be where (we) want to be.”
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
Baseline Sports NY is on Twitter @Baseline_NY
