Still searching. The New York Liberty headed to Indianapolis desperate to stop their three game losing streak and get back to their winning ways. For the first 17 or so minutes of the game, they appeared to be on their way. However, the Indiana Fever took full control of the final 23 and handed New York their fourth straight loss.
The opponent tonight is heading in the opposite direction. The Dallas Wings have been outstanding this season and are due to head back to the playoffs for the first time
since 2023. They extended their winning streak to six following a home win against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday afternoon.
Game Info & Broadcast Details
- Matchup: New York Liberty (13-12) vs. Dallas Wings (15-10)
- Date: Monday, July 20, 2026
- Tip-Off Time: 8:00 PM ET / 7:00 PM CT
- Venue: College Park Center (Arlington, TX)
- TV Channel: My9 (local broadcast)
- Livestream: FUBO
Liberty vs. Wings Injury Report: Who’s Out?
New York Liberty Injury Status:
- Out – Leonie Fiebich (left foot soreness)
- Out – Satou Sabally (concussion protocol)
- Questionable – Marine Johanes (left ankle injury)
Dallas Wings Injury Status:
- Doubtful – Alanna Smith (right leg)
- Questionable – Paige Bueckers
🏀 The Game
Dallas won the first and second meeting.
Normally, Paige Bueckers would be the player to watch. However, she’s being evaluated after a scary collision with Nneka Ogwumike yesterday.
The Liberty are trying to figure things out, and the biggest question is the rotation. Chris DeMarco is pressing as many buttons as he can, but nothing seems to be going right. Anneli Maley was one of the first players off the bench as DeMarco made use of Maley’s up to 12 developmental games she can appear in. Maley got burn in favor of Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Rebekah Gardner, and he provided some of his reasoning after the game:
You try and try again until something works. We’ll see how it looks tonight. Without Fiebich, the Liberty zone defense that had been highly successful early on has started to show some leaks. Friend of the site Steve Jones Jr touched on that briefly on Twitter, The Everything App:
If the zone doesn’t work, they’ll have to make sure their man-to-man defense is back on point.
We’ll also see what the shot distribution looks like. Assuming Johannes is out or limited in any way, Sabrina Ionescu figures to get more shot attempts her way. Saturday was the first time in a month she had taken less than ten field goal attempts in a game. It’s a tough balance to strike as you try to hunt your own shot vs. keeping the offense humming.
If you’re looking for some good news about Ionescu’s shooting: she’s made 5-11 from deep over the last two games. Threes beget good driving opportunities, so if Ionescu has found it from deep, everything else should open up.
Assuming Bueckers is out, Arike Ogunbowale should carry the bulk of the scoring load. She’s done it before and all it takes is one shot to heat her up, so the Liberty defense will need to make sure their communication is on point. If they’re able to force her into difficult shots, it will have been a job well done and will help them get out in transition and find some scoring opportunities on the break.
Player To Watch: Jessica Shepard
All-Star Jess Shep! Shepard has been a revelation playing under Jose Fernandez this year. She’s the only player in the league that has a triple-double this season and picked one up against the Liberty in the last matchup. Amazingly, she still doesn’t have a block this season and the Wings allow teams to shoot 65.6 percent from the field inside the restricted area, third highest mark in the league. For as good as she’s been, there is an opportunity to take advantage. We’ll see if New York can take it.
How Can the Liberty End the Losing Streak?
The Liberty need to clean up the turnovers. They’ve turned it over at least 14 times in each of the last five games and when you cough it up the amount that they have, you’re asking for trouble. The Liberty have stressed the importance of preventing live ball turnovers and opponent transition opportunities. During this losing streak, ill-timed turnovers have cost them very winnable games. If they can curtail that issue, it will help them get back on track in a hurry.
The next thing is the rebounding. During the losing streak, they’ve given up a bunch of o-boards that have extended possessions and bent the defense to its limit. Extra possessions lead to extra opportunities for opponents to find an opening and punish you.
After Saturday’s game, Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones took responsibility for the recent miscues and vowed to be better. If the dynamic duo can get off to a strong start and help the Liberty weather the Wings’ runs, they can get back in the win column and take a deep breath. Keep pushing and something good will happen.
From the Vault
It’s been a week and I’m still thinking about the Jay-Z concerts at Yankee Stadium. NetsDaily was on the scene so here’s one from my night.
And one from Pooch’s.
More reading: Mavs Moneyball, Dallas Hoops Journal, Swish Appeal, Breakaway, SB Nation, Women’s Basketball Roundup, The Local W, New York Daily News, The Stomp, The Post Presence, New York Post, No Cap Space, Newsday, The Athletic, NY Liberty Fan TV, Fansided, Just Women’s Sports, Winsidr, Her Hoop Stats, Yahoo Sports, ESPN, CBS Sports, and The IX Basketball
