The New York Liberty’s post-All-Star slate began with a thud, as they feel behind early and never recovered against the Las Vegas Aces.
BROOKLYN-Everyone’s experiences a letdown after a vacation one way or another.
The New York Liberty were victims of such a phenomenon on Tuesday night, when a slow start doomed them to a 107-101 loss at the hands of the Las Vegas Aces in their first game back from the WNBA All-Star break. New York (9-14) got off to a sluggish start against the Association’s Western Conference leaders, trailing 30-16 after the first quarter before facing a deficit that reached as high as 24 before embarking on a thrilling yet futile comeback.
“We were terrible. We didn’t come ready to play. We hadn’t done anything and that’s how I spoke to them,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello bluntly said of her team’s first 20 minutes. “We didn’t compete, we didn’t make shots. We didn’t play defense either. I’m proud of the second half team, I like that. That’s the team I enjoy coaching. That first half team, we can’t do that, not against these great teams and not against any team because we’ll lose against everybody.”
The Liberty’s All-Stars ruled the night, as Skills Challenge champion Sabrina Ionescu put in 21 points in the final frame (27 total) and Natasha Howard had a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double. It wasn’t enough to offset the early efforts of Vegas’ representatives, as Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson, and Jackie Young united for 73 points in the victory. Wilson’s double-double (23 points, 14 rebounds) allowed the Aces to win the rebounding battle by a 36-27 margin while Plum, the All-Star Game’s MVP, had 27.
The loss to the Aces (16-7) followed up a 116-107 victory last Wednesday in Nevada, one that saw the Liberty set and/or tie several team and league records. New York did manage to keep that trend alive with two new marks on Tuesday night: Sami Whitcomb tied her own WNBA record with five three-pointers in the third quarter, re-joining Diana Taurasi and fellow two-timer Maya Moore. Whitcomb’s assault from deep (matching the mark she previously reached with Seattle in August 2020), was part of a 73-point showing in the second half for the Liberty, which broke a 15-year-old record set by the Detroit Shock.
Further history and clawing their way back against one of the WNBA’s finest, however, was of little consolation to the Liberty, who continue to sit a game behind the three-way tie for sixth-place in the current standings. The team had one of its healthier lineups in action on Tuesday, as Bec Allen’s return allowed them to work with a 10-woman rotation while starters Jocelyn Willoughby and Betnijah Laney (a 2021 All-Star) continue to recover from injuries.
“In that third quarter, we were moving the ball. In particular, people were driving the paint and they were setting really great floor screens that were just opening stuff up because (Vegas does) overhelp a bit,” Whitcomb said of the fateful third frame. “I don’t know specifically why we don’t play a full four quarters, but obviously today was there was a difference in intensity and focus from the first half to the second. I don’t know why, but that, to me, is what it was. We weren’t locked in from the very jump and it took, unfortunately us getting punched multiple times and being down 20 to find that that real heart and define our toughness.”
“At halftime, there was anger. We were all angry at ourselves, at each other, not in a bad way, but just angry as a team, that we weren’t competing and that we weren’t playing the way that we know we can play,” Stef Dolson (8 points, 7 rebounds) told Baseline. “We want to get stops. I think we know we can score, but I think, for us, our defense has to be better. Yes, we scored a lot in the second half, but we still let them score the 19 in the third and 36 in the fourth. So that’s still not good enough for us. I think we have to be better.”
After a lucrative June, which saw them go 7-4, the Liberty have sandwiched their historic win in Vegas with four losses, all of which have been defined by slow starts followed by furiously lively comebacks that fall just short. Tuesday’s deficit, for example, was whittled down to as little as three before Vegas pulled away, those efforts partly swayed by a sterling effort at the free throw line, where they sank all but one of their 35 free throw attempts.
Up Next
One more matchup against the Aces awaits on Thursday, as the Liberty kick off a bit of an unusual trek with a weekday matinee in Brooklyn (11 a.m. ET, YES). It’ll be the first of three consecutive morning tip-offs for the Liberty, who will also get up early for visits to Connecticut and Washington next Tuesday and Thursday respectively.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
Baseline Sports NY is on Twitter @Baseline_NY
