Last season, the New York Liberty won their first four games before enduring their only losing streak — two games — en route to the first WNBA championship in team history.
The Liberty, off to another unbeaten start, will seek their sixth straight win when they visit the Washington Mystics on Friday.
New York is 5-0 for the first time since the 2007 season and is seeking its first 6-0 getaway since winning its first seven in 1997, the WNBA’s inaugural season. A year ago, the Liberty were 4-0 before losses to the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx.
The Liberty scored at least 90 points in their first four games before eking out an 82-77 home win over the Valkyries on Thursday, two nights after rolling to a 28-point win against the Golden State expansion team.
Breanna Stewart scored 27 by hitting 15 of 19 free throws on Thursday, and Sabrina Ionescu sank six 3-pointers as part of a 24-point showing. Those performances were part of a game in which the Liberty never led by more than six, shot a season-worst 37.7 percent and committed 14 turnovers.
“We’ve got to be tougher than that,” New York coach Sandy Brondello said. “Most important thing is we won the game, found a way, and Stewie was amazing. Her pursuit of the ball was huge for us.”
New York played without starting forward Jonquel Jones due to right hamstring discomfort as a precaution. Kennedy Burke contributed 11 in her first start of the year, and she would be in the starting frontcourt if Jones is out again Friday.
Washington (3-3), which will host the Liberty twice in the next week, is coming off an 83-77 win over the visiting Indiana Fever on Wednesday in Baltimore. Brittany Sykes led the way with 21 points and nine rebounds, but she is 7-for-30 from the field in the past two games while going 15-for-18 from the foul line.
Sykes is getting help from rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, who are averaging 15 points and 14.2 points, respectively.
Citron scored 13 points against Indiana, and she has been in double figures each game, including a pair of 19-point efforts. Iriafen contributed 16 points and eight rebounds on Wednesday after posting double-doubles in the previous four games.
“They don’t get to just stay and watch me all night, they gotta prepare for everybody and know that anybody at any given moment could go for 10-plus,” Sykes said of her first-year teammates. “It doesn’t matter if it’s me or not.”
–Field Level Media
