The WNBA’s reigning Rookie of the Year made her biggest statement of the season in the Liberty’s pulse-pounding victory over Chicago on Saturday.
BROOKLYN-Coming up big in vital moments is something that M.O. wants to make, well, an M.O.
It perhaps would’ve been easy for Michaela Onyenwere, the WNBA’s reigning Rookie of the Year, to perhaps fade into the background when she arrived to the New York Liberty as the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft. The Liberty, partaking in their first season as full-time tenants of Barclays Center, had enough volatile firepower to settle as it was, working with Sabrina Ionescu in her first full-time season and the newly acquired Natasha Howard, Betnijah Laney, and their respective accomplishments.
Such a strategy, however, would never be in the UCLA alumna’s nature.
The descent upon Barclays Center was supposed to provide comfort and stability to a team that endured a nomadic existence after The Madison Square Garden Company put them up for sale, but the basketball goddesses haven’t been willing to compensate. Injuries have peppered the starting lineup and the Liberty’s key contributors over their first two full-time Brooklyn excursions, frequently keeping the team short of its maximum firepower.
Last year’s ailments, namely those of Howard and Jocelyn Willoughby, thrust Onyenwere into an instantaneous starting role. She rewarded the team’s faith by ranking at or near the top of nearly every major statistical category, a run that earned her the top freshman honor and an appearance on the All-Rookie team alongside fellow 2021 draftee DiDi Richards.
“She’s so sweet and she’s so innocent, but it’s like, she’s a beast on the court,” Richards, by far Onyenwere’s closest confidant and friend in their shared New York adventure, said last season. “”She’s one of those rare rookies that had a ready to go WNBA body. She was ahead of the pack in college (and) seeing her apply it to the next level is amazing.”
Onyenwere is perhaps finally an official member of the Liberty as hardwood misfortune has befallen her at several points this season: the sophomore had no qualms in coming off the bench but the injury report, one that has claimed a sizable chunk of metropolitan contributors’ seasons (i.e. Laney, Richards, Willoughby) came for Onyenwere, who missed two games with a left knee injury. She was one of two Liberty representatives to appear in 32 contests last season alongside the All-Star Laney.
The relentless WNBA season took note of Onyenwere’s status as she returned to the lineup on Saturday night, as the reeling Liberty, loser of five in a row as a heated WNBA playoff races intensified, welcomed in the Chicago Sky. With head coach Sandy Brondello looking to shorten the lineup against the defending champions (voluntarily holding out Richards and Willoughby as Laney continues to recover from a knee injury), Onyenwere was thrust back into the rotation against a merciless Chicago rush that saw Azura Stevens drive up against her and earn easy points, preventing the Liberty from pulling away from a Chicago group that required last-second heroics to escape their prior visit.
Fade into the background? Have someone else handle it? Take a backseat and rely on more experienced representatives? Again, that’s hardly a part of M.O.’s M.O.
Seated for the entirety of the third, Onyenwere offered the most potent thrills of a roller-coaster fourth quarter for the Liberty when regulars like Howard and Stefanie Dolson got themselves in foul trouble. She tightened her defense up, helping limit Stevens and Rebekah Gardner to a combined 2-of-7 in the final frame after they went 7-for-13 over the first three. When Chicago tested her mettle one last time, trying to have Candace Parker enforce her will for a game-winning basket, Onyenwere forced the MVP into a rushed final attempt that promptly landed in her arms. Parker then fouled her with 1.8 seconds remaining, allowing Onyenwere to cooly sink the finishing touches of the Liberty’s 83-80 victory.
“I wanted to be aggressive, get to that cross screen,” Onyenwere said of her intentions to Baseline when it became clear that she was the one thing standing between a euphoric New York victory and further hardwood heroics from Parker. “I was just going to fight through the cross screen, and then just be really solid … When you have those situations, you assume that somebody like Candace Parker is probably going to take the shot, kind of have the ball in her hands in those last few seconds.
“I tried to execute the scouting report, center her to that to that (weaker) shoulder as much as I can, and stop her from trying to have an easy basket. They’ve been killing it for an offensive rebound, so I knew that was the most important part of the possession I just wanted to be strong with the ball, got fouled and made the effort.”
Though Ionescu’s winning and-one drive past Gardner provided the lasting image of Saturday’s win, Onyenwere played a subtle yet vital role in the finale: as Ionescu searched for an opening, Onyenwere took away the double team potential by drawing All-Star Emma Meeseman away from the paint, allowing the franchise face to handle her one-on-one business on her own.
Onyenwere’e late efforts on both ends went relatively unnoticed in the box score but not by Ionescu.
“(She has) that mentality of staying ready,” Ionescu said. “You never know when it’s your time to make a game-winning play and as athletes that’s what everyone always dreams of. Her ability to just stay locked in in the moment, in the present, having not played the last two games, to come in and play 13 minutes, give us seven points, and a game winning rebound and free throw is a testament to her and her ability to stay locked in and ready for the moment.”
“It’s a game of ebbs and flows. It’s not going to be perfect every single day,” Onyenwere continued, explaining that her confidence in facing Parker on the winning battle was spurred by her supportive fellow New Yorkers. “My teammates never lose confidence in me. I’m always going to have a height disadvantage in that lane. It’s just about how I execute the stopping of that and not getting down when things don’t go my way. I’m just learning to play with that. I’m learning to have an advantage on the other side where I may be quicker than them and I’m able to hold my own because I can be strong. It happens, but I’m really happy to have teammates who continue to encourage you when things like (Stevens’ performance) happen.”
Onyenwere has no doubt been forced to take on an abbreviated role, perhaps through no fault of her own, as the Liberty (10-17) plan for the final stretch of another potential playoff run, one that continues on Friday night with a rematch against the Sky (8 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network). But it’s abundantly clear that she has a role in this latest postseason push and Saturday’s contest was a clear reminder.
Every minute posted by the 144 players on a WNBA roster has been earned despite a series of factors, some of which go beyond a player’s control. One shouldn’t expect Onyenwere to become complacent just because of some early hardware.
“She gets better and better now she understands the system. She feels confident in it. She’s a physical girl, she’s a tough girl. Candace couldn’t move her!” the first-year head coach Brondello said of the role Onyenwere can play in the final stages. “It’s a credit to her, she stayed poised out there, as a sophomore going at (Parker). Last time we trapped and they got a wide-open three … (Onyenwere) can jump, too, she is an athlete.”
“I’m happy for her, we just got to keep getting her healthier and hopefully we can continue to build.”
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
Baseline Sports NY is on Twitter @Baseline_NY
