The New York Liberty and Los Angeles Sparks have played twice this season, and both games were decided by less than five points.
Thursday night, the Liberty (20-14) will host the Sparks (12-20) in the final game of their season series. New York will work on its playoff seeding, while the Sparks aim to get back into postseason contention.
New York is 7-2 over its past nine games and in seventh place of the overall league standings heading into Wednesday’s play. That includes a 113-109 win at Los Angeles on July 28.
The victory avenged a 98-97 road loss to the Sparks on June 21.
Breanna Stewart, who leads New York in scoring at 21.3 points per game, said her squad has been executing better since a players-only meeting July 18.
“Sometimes you try to do everything the coaches want, and you try to play perfectly,” Stewart said, according to The New York Post. “It becomes a bit robotic.”
The Liberty have since played better free-flowing basketball, but have still not shown the ability to consistently execute one-on-one, lock-down defense. By requiring help defense at times, New York has had to contend with open shooters.
Tuesday night at Indiana, the Fever took advantage by shooting 64% on 3-pointers (16 of 25) as the Liberty lost 106-92.
Now it’s back to New York, where the Liberty are 11-5 at home, including an active four-game win streak.
Los Angeles is 7-9 on the road, but overall has lost nine of its past 11 games. During this stretch the Sparks have tried to adapt without their star player Kelsey Plum, losing her first to injury and then permanently after she was dealt to the Phoenix Mercury Aug. 2.
Los Angeles does have two recent road victories at Portland and Minnesota. The victory over the WNBA-leading Lynx came with a heavy dose of fourth-quarter defense and showed the Sparks’ potential with their new look.
The Sparks then lost consecutive home games, though, including a 94-87 loss to the Mercury on Tuesday. Plum did not play because of an injury.
Sparks coach Lynne Roberts admitted that the Mercury’s zone defense caused problems.
“I think it was the last four minutes when they went into zone and we just kind of stopped moving it,” Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. “We got a little unsure. Zone offense is not rocket science. You just gotta move the ball.”
Against the Liberty in July, the Sparks were led by Rae Burrell (24 points) and Nneka Ogwumike (21 points). As a team, the Sparks punctured New York’s vulnerable defense by going 16 of 31 (51.6%) from 3-point range.
For the season, Ogwumike leads Los Angeles in points (17.1) and rebounds (8.8).
–Field Level Media
