The New York Liberty were in dire straits Saturday before finding a way to keep their winning streak going and survive the absence of Sabrina Ionescu.
The Liberty hope to encounter less stress Monday night as they head to Uncasville, Conn. and visit the Connecticut Sun.
New York (7-4) is 2-0 in its Commissioner’s Cup games so far and on a four-game winning streak since dropping three straight May 21-25. The Liberty earned a 15-point win over Toronto on Wednesday in the initial Commissioner’s Cup game but struggled most of Saturday before taking an 83-75 victory over the visiting Indiana Fever.
Against Indiana, the Liberty faced a 12-point deficit late in the third quarter and saw Breanna Stewart deliver a standout performance, especially in the fourth. Stewart scored 15 of her 30 in the final quarter and did so by going 13 of 15 from the free-throw line; the Liberty scored 21 of their 29 points in the final 10 minutes on free throws.
“Honestly, we want to win games whether they’re pretty or they’re ugly,” Stewart said. “And that’s what’s going to be the separator down the line, is who can get the win when things aren’t going well and we continue to fight back.”
Stewart notched her second 30-point showing this season by going 18 of 21 at the line. She hit 6 of 15 from the field and is a mere 23 of 62 from the floor (37.1%) in her past five games.
Stewart scored 31 when the Liberty shot 52.2% and cruised to a 106-75 home win over the Sun on May 8.
Ionescu sat out Saturday after her back soreness flared up and has played one game this season due to injuries. She was ruled out on Sunday’s injury report, meaning rookie Pauline Astier will likely get another start Monday.
The Sun (2-10) are winless in their first two Commissioner’s Cup games at Atlanta and Chicago. Connecticut is coming off an 85-80 loss at Chicago on Friday, when it was outscored 74-55 in the final 30 minutes after taking a 14-point lead through the opening quarter.
That followed the Sun’s 91-75 loss at Atlanta, in which they were outscored by 13 during the fourth quarter.
“It is a 40-minute game, but we also have to be more consistent and locking in,” Connecticut’s Samiya Rivers said.
Brittney Griner scored 13 points in the first meeting against New York and finished with 16 and eight rebounds against Chicago after totaling 16 points in her first two games back from injury. The Sun are also hoping for more from Leila Lacan, who is shooting 10 of 35 in her first three games following international commitments.
–Field Level Media
