Forced into an early appearance in the starting five, Jocelyn Willoughby came through for the New York Liberty.
BROOKLYN-Relegated to Barclays Center’s bench for the entirety of the 2021 season, Jocelyn Willoughby was anything but inactive. Willoughby, a sidelined sophomore victimized by a torn left Achilles tendon during a scrimmage, partook in as many of the animated sideline celebrations as she could and remained engaged with her metropolitan fanbase and community through a self-founded book club that worked in conjunction with local bookstore and coffee shop Cafe con Libros.
There was basically one place in Brooklyn where Willoughby hadn’t made a difference: the gameday court at Barclays Center. That trended ended on Saturday night.
Willoughby didn’t have to wait long for her 601-calendar day absence from the Liberty lineup to end. With All-Star Betnijah Laney working off a minor injury, the weekend’s opener featured the Virginia alumna in the New York starting lineup as they welcomed in the Connecticut Sun. Taking the floor, however, wasn’t enough for Willoughby, who was one of four New York representatives to reach double figures in scoring en route to an 81-79 victory on tip-off night. Willoughby came up especially big over the crucial final frame, which saw the Liberty (1-0) stave off a late Connecticut rush.
Over the final 4:35 of the game, which saw her sub back in for Michaela Onyenwere to set up the final stanza, Willoughby helped provide the winning difference. Two steals shortly after her re-enty set up a pair of three-point trips for Sabrina Ionescu that gave New York a permanent lead before she helped seal the deal with late foul-line trips and rebounds off Connecticut’s equalizing opportunities. Her final box score saw her earn 13 points and five rebounds.
“What I like about her is that I keep saying don’t get too high or too low. She’s one of the players that doesn’t, she knows what she does. She’s a capable offensive player and made some timely threes for us to get some separation, she attends both ends of the floor and she’s a player…she’s impressed me a lot in training camp and I know she’ll get better and better with more time back playing again.”
Sandy Brondello
Asked in the postgame aftermath where Willoughby impressed her the most, head coach Sandy Brondello couldn’t narrow down the impact to a single area.
“All areas, to be quite honest, (especially) for someone that hasn’t played for over a year coming back from the injury that she had,” Brondello said. “She’s a fierce competitor and she has an engine.”
Along with Ionescu, Willoughby is one of the leftovers from the Liberty’s splurge in the first round of the 2020 WNBA Draft. Ironically, destiny appeared to put her on a collision course with Brondello, who was coaching the Phoenix Mercury at the time of Willoughby’s professional entry. Phoenix originally called her name with the 10th overall pick but sent her east in exchange for the contract of veteran Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (a yield from the expansive Tina Charles trade).
Brondello faced off against Willoughby twice in the WNBA’s Bradenton bubble but she was nonetheless an “unknown” on the floor thanks to the year off. Over the offseason and training camp process, the new head coach was able to find some desirable common ground that left her optimistic.
“What I like about her is that I keep saying don’t get too high or too low. She’s one of the players that doesn’t, she knows what she does,” Brondello said. “She’s a capable offensive player and made some timely threes for us to get some separation, she attends both ends of the floor and she’s a player…she’s impressed me a lot in training camp and I know she’ll get better and better with more time back playing again.”
In return, Willoughby was excited about fulfilling Brondello’s strategic non-negotiables. As one of the ACC’s top foul-line visitors (leading the conference with 6.4 attempts per game), she made it there five times in the fateful final frame. Her efforts in the interior and helping move the ball allowed the Liberty to successfully launch three-point balls without relying on the extra point as they appeared to at several points last season.
“I think we moved the ball more than we did in the first quarter for sure. We got better shots. We were forcing a little bit in the beginning,” Willoughby said of a first quarter that saw the Liberty trail by as much as ten. “When we move the ball, things come easier, so that was a huge difference for us. On the defensive end, we were just being tough. There were moments where we were losing 50/50 balls or weren’t getting rebounds…I think there’s a point where we were like, if we want this game, we have to do it all. There’s nothing that should be left on the table and so hanging our hats on the defensive end and really being tough I think was a changer for us.”
Willoughby was granted several “welcome back” moments for better and worse in Saturday’s game. She was responsible for New York’s first points of the season (an “exciting” driving layup that ended an early 8-0 run for Connecticut) but saw another attempt crudely rejected by reigning WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones (which the smiling Willoughby called a “good block but could’ve been a foul”).
Her involvement in the Liberty’s rise back from an early double-digit deficit was a strong statement as it was. But Willoughby credited Liberty fans for their own efforts on Saturday, one that made her feel enthused and welcomed in her first game on Atlantic Avenue’s hardwood.
“The environment overall, not even specific plays, was really exciting,” Willoughby said. “(Winning) is very special, but at the same time, we had a great start to the season last year. We are excited about the beginnings but knowing that every day we have to build on it. We can’t just stay where we are. So that’s our focus. Of course, we’ll celebrate starting off but we know that there’s a lot more to go and this is a very long season.”
Willoughby was one of several Liberty players returning to the court after a prolonged absence. Asia Durr (AD), the second overall pick of the 2019 WNBA Draft, played their first game in over 1,000 days after dealing with long-term COVID-19 while Han Xu was also back in New York, though she did not play.
The returnees don’t have to look far for inspiration and advice to complete their comebacks: Ionescu herself saw her WNBA career begin under unfortunate circumstances, her time in the bubble ending after only three games thanks to an ankle injury. While Ionescu was the mainstream headliner of Saturday’s win…pacing the Liberty with 25 points, the last 10 coming in the fourth quarter…and likely beyond, 2020’s top pick and the widely assumed face of the franchise labeled the returns of Willoughby and AD “the story that our team has talked about”.
“What I really told them was to enjoy it,” Ionescu said. “When you’re removed from the game for a while and you’re not able to play it, you miss it, you miss doing what you love because it’s something that you’ve dedicated your whole life to. They’ve put in so much work to get back to this stage, to be able to play at the highest level.”
“Don’t lose sight of how fun it is, and what a blessing it is. That’s what I told them and I think they had a great time and they really did enjoy being out there and playing but the work continues.”
The Liberty return to action on Wednesday night when they battle the defending champion Chicago Sky on the road (8 p.m. ET, CBSSN).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
Baseline Sports NY is on Twitter @Baseline_NY
Image: Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images
