There were two fun stretches in the New York Liberty’s otherwise irritating victory over the Connecticut Sun on Sunday afternoon.
The first came in the second quarter, after the Liberty had spent the first quarter messing around against a really bad Sun team that was also missing Brittney Griner. But these 8-24 Sun had lost their most recent game by 35 points, primed to save some face and avoid embarrassment. The Liberty were missing Sabrina Ionescu, out with not just an ankle injury but also with the subtext
that Connecticut kinda stinks.
Suddenly, the Liberty were down 27-19 after a quarter, letting Leïla Lacan run free without providing the gap help and secondary rotations they spent much of Thursday’s postgame talking about. But then they locked in.
New York won the second quarter by 17 points. There was a 15-0 run in there as well, during which Jonquel Jones decided that nobody on Connecticut could guard her. She scored 13 points in the frame, grabbed an offensive board that led to Rebekah Gardner’s first 3-pointer since July 28, and demonstrated that even at the highest level of hoops, there are still levels to this…
Jones finished with a 23-and-11 double-double. She only wanted to discuss the improved defense in the second quarter, while Chris DeMarco spoke about her offense: “If she’s dominating the game like the way she was in the first half, if I’m the opposing coach or team, I’m probably gonna try to take her away a little bit. So for tonight, I just thought they made a better focus in the second half of trying to limit her touches and her impact. But in general, [she] has been awesome.”
With the Sun relocating to Houston next season, the game marked Jones’ final appearance at Mohegan Sun, the home arena where she became a WNBA MVP and went to the Finals for the first time.
“A lot of memories here, a lot of great people, the place where I started my career, and I’m sad to see the Sun go, but excited to really see what things will turn into, and it’ll be my first time to be able to visit Houston and all of that stuff next year,” said Jones. “But yeah, one of those franchises that has a special place in my heart.”
The Liberty did not pull away after halftime. Connecticut made some plays, New York had some ill-timed turnovers, though they only finished with a dozen for the game. It was just a slog. Breanna Stewart shot just 3-of-12 missing a bunch of layups and hooks. Pauline Astier had eight points on some nice drives but couldn’t consistently provide offense, while Rebekah Gardner and Marine Fauthoux chipped in 15 combined off the bench. But they needed to throw a knockout punch.
Enter Marine Johannès.
She scored eight of her 17 in the fourth quarter, but the momentum-changing highlights she produced sealed the game. Connecticut cut it to one and then Johannès hit a 30-foot floater. That’s the game! Sorry!
Johannès also threw this ridiculous water polo pass…
…hit a step-back three, and made a layup, rewarding Liberty fans who spent a gorgeous Saturday afternoon indoors. This is the magic of The Wizard.
Jonquel summed it up: “It was amazing. It was amazing to watch. I could tell that she was locked in. I could kind of feel some of the things that she was going to do before she did it, but to see it happen in real time was amazing. And yeah, when she’s playing like that, like she’s just unbelievable and amazing.”
Johannès finished with 17 points and five assists on 6-of-9 shooting including five triples, but you never, ever remember the box score with her. She is, to reiterate Jonquel’s point, just amazing. Amazing. She plays how you imagined your favorite player played when you were five years old, and for her faults that may limit her impact once we get to the playoffs, the Liberty are still lucky to have her.
“Marine should have, like, ultimate confidence right now,” said Breanna Stewart.
The Liberty are now 9-2 in their last 11 games, sixth in the standings and closer to moving up than down. Stacking wins isn’t always pretty, but it is effective.
Final Score: New York Liberty 82, Connecticut Sun 75
Next Up
The Liberty visit the Chicago Sky on Tuesday evening, with tip-off scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET.
