Back in the winner’s circle. The New York Liberty continued their Western swing with a late night showdown with the Las Vegas Aces. New York handled business and had their best win of the season against the reigning WNBA champions.
The opponent tonight is trying to right the ship. The Seattle Storm have been competitive, but have not been able to get that elusive victory. Their losing streak hit ten games after an overtime heartbreaker against the Dallas Wings on Monday night.
Where to follow the game
My9 on TV for the locals.
Liberty Live on streaming. League Pass for the outsiders. Tip after 10:00 p.m. ET.
Injuries
Satou Sabally is in concussion protocol and out for this game. Breanna Stewart is getting a rest day and is out tonight.
Jordan Horston, Ezi Magbegor, and Tiana Mair are out.
The game
So how do the Liberty manage without Breanna Stewart tonight? That’s the question Chris DeMarco and the Liberty coaching staff will have to figure out in a hurry. At the very least, Raquel Carrera figures to get a healthy dose of minutes tonight. The Spanish rookie has been getting comfortable being in the USA and tonight will be a great opportunity to see if she can carve out a bigger role in the rotation.
She’ll be matched up against a fellow rookie big. Awa Fam came to the W a bit late, but is quickly getting up to speed.
With no Stewart and Sabally, look for Leonie Fiebich to take on a bit of a bigger role. She joked with media a while back that everyone’s on her to shoot more. Now’s a good time to do it! Fiebich can do more on offense and has shown some success when scaling up some. For DeMarco, we’ll see how he designs the offense to create more quality looks for her and her teammates tonight.
Sabrina Ionescu had her best game of the season on Tuesday night. Her rebounding has always been one of the best parts of her game and with the team missing two bigs, she’ll need to chip in more on the glass tonight. The Storm defense has had their struggles, so look for Ionescu to find her way into the paint tonight. If the drives are there, the rest of the offense opens up for the Liberty.
Player to watch: Dominique Malonga
Woooooooooooooo, buddy! Watching Malonga get more comfortable with her superpowers in real time is such a blessing to watch. She’s starting this year and is the centerpiece of what new head coach Sonia Raman runs. She’s good for 17 points and seven rebounds a night and is also good for one spellbinding play a game. We talk so much about the evolution of basketball, and having your center do the things Dom does is such a gift. The game is in great hands going forward.
Jonquel Jones will have a tall task on her plate tonight. She’ll have to stay out of foul trouble as Han Xu and Carrera are the only bigs that are available to back her up tonight. When Jones is dialed in, she impacts the game on so many different levels and is almost impossible to stop inside the restricted area. She didn’t see much of Malonga last year so tonight will be a tremendous matchup between two Earth shattering bigs.
From the Vault
30 years ago today, Reasonable Doubt hit the streets and Jay-Z’s life changed
More reading: Storm Chasers, Swish Appeal, Breakaway, SB Nation, Women’s Basketball Roundup, The Local W, New York Daily News, No Cap Space, New York Post, Newsday, The Athletic, NY Liberty Fan TV, Fansided, The Stomp, Just Women’s Sports, Winsidr, Her Hoop Stats, Yahoo Sports, ESPN, CBS Sports, and The IX Basketball
- New York Liberty Game Notes – New York Liberty
- Seattle Storm Game Notes – Seattle Storm
- Satou Sabally in concussion protocol in Liberty injury concern – Madeline Kenney – New York Post
