The New York Liberty wrapped up their regular season with another home loss to the Atlanta Dream, their second in three days. This one didn’t mean anything though.
Monday’s loss left sent the Liberty careening toward cliff’s edge, peering into the eight-seed-abyss. On Wednesday, they accepted their; even with a win, they’d need either the Dallas Wings or Washington Mystics to lose their final game to a lottery team. And are the Golden State Valkyries or Las Vegas Aces a much better first-round matchup
than the struggling Minnesota Lynx, losers of four-of-five, including a game to New York?
Breanna Stewart tweaking her knee removed all doubt. She was listed on the initial injury report as questionable with left knee soreness. But why push it?
Chris DeMarco described her absence as “precautionary”, but didn’t commit to a return-to-play timeline: “I’m not sure yet on the workload piece or the availability. Just, it’s soreness right now, a play that happened in the last game, not feeling great. But yeah, hopefully she’ll be ready for the playoffs.”
Breanna Stewart will have five off-days between her last appearance and Game 1 of the WNBA Playoffs. Despite DeMarco’s non-commitment, Stewie missing a playoff game is, presently, unfathomable. If the Liberty had been chasing home-court advantage on Wednesday, an absence from the surefire All-WNBA First Teamer would have sounded alarm bells. Right now? Not so much.
Still, the status of Breanna Stewart’s left knee is more important than any basketball happening from Wednesday’s game. For record-keeping purposes, the Liberty got smoked. Fifteen turnovers in the first half did them in. Han Xu was handed multiple grenades, with one particularly uninspiring possession ending in Han attempting a 25-foot soccer-throw-in as a Dream defender dug into 6’11” frame. Sabrina Ionescu stiff-elbowed Angel Reese in the mouth…
Liberty fans would rather appreciate a strong playoff performance after an underwhelming regular season, but this was a rough forty minutes for Fan Appreciation Game. Media row would have appreciated a running clock in the second half; Atlanta and New York combined to commit 37 fouls and shoot 23.4% from deep.
Head Coach Chris DeMarco dawdled in taking the starters out, and sure enough, Jonquel Jones stepped on a fan’s foot while backpedaling from a 3-point attempt. The Liberty were down 18 points with 14 minutes left at time of the incident. Jones — it might be a stretch to say “limped” — uh, gingerly left the floor, quickly thereafter ruled out for the night.
DeMarco did not have much of an update: “She rolled her ankle, made contact with a fan, but she’s in good spirits. She’s doing well, it sounds like. But she’s being evaluated right now.”
New York’s deep reserves played well in an interminable, replay-review-filled fourth quarter. Marine Fauthoux finished with 14/3/4 in 17 minutes, Allen hit a couple more threes, and Raquel Carrera, who started in place of Stewie, fought past early offensive reluctance to put up 9/5/4 without missing a shot.
Said DeMarco: “I’m really proud of the way Raquel played, Bec played, our bench played, getting back in the game, showing a lot of fight.”
The Liberty cut a 20-point deficit to seven multiple time in the fourth quarter, but were ultimately overpowered by a Dream squad looking to secure home-court in the first round. Allisha Gray led the way with 24/4/5 on 8-of-17 shooting, while Naz Hillmon added 16. Reese shot the flagrant free-throws following Sabrina’s elbow, but that was her final act on Wednesday, playing just 17 minutes.
New York (a bit too literally) limps into the playoffs, which begin at weekend’s end. They finish the regular season with a 26-18 record, owning the #8 seed and a date with the Minnesota Lynx. The Liberty had a rough summer, clearly. But fall is here. Opportunity awaits.
Final Score: Atlanta Dream 83, New York Liberty 65
Rebecca Allen retirement ceremony
Ten minutes before tipoff, the Liberty honored soon-to-be-retiree Rebecca Allen, who previously announced that this, her 11th season in the WNBA, would be her last. She spent seven of them with the Liberty: three at Madison Square Garden, two in Westchester, and two at Barclays Center.
“Bec Allen coming back to New York is an amazing full-circle moment for our organization,” said GM Jonathan Kolb when Allen signed in offseason free agency. “As one of the longest-tenured players in franchise history, Bec helped shape the foundation of who we are today.”
Though Allen will certainly appear for the Liberty in the postseason (during which they are guaranteed at least one home game), Wednesday night marked her final regular-season appearance with the team:
On all-time Liberty leaderboards, the beloved Aussie finishes 12th in 3-pointers made, 8th in blocks, and 20th in steals.
“It was super meaningful to come back,” said Allen postgame. “It’s the reason why I really wanted to sign back here, it really helps me put that bow on my career. It’s where I started, it’s a place that I’ve got a lot of love for. I like when you do something that’s more than just about playing the game. I love when it’s got that deeper meaning, where I truly feel like New York is like a second home for me.”
When asked how she’d like to be remembered, Bec said, “People remember how they felt. You don’t always remember stats from games and all that. So I want to be that person that was good in the locker room, a friend to people as well, my kindness.”
Next Up
Playoff time. The New York Liberty will travel to face a familiar opponent in the Minnesota Lynx to start a 1-1-1, best-of-3 first round playoff series. Game 1 is scheduled for Sunday, start time TBD.
