Help Is On The Way! Liberty Reeling. Tough Loss or Moral Victory?
- Erin Ivey
- Aug 1
- 4 min read
The Rivalry That Keeps on Giving
We may as well call this game six of the finals between the Liberty and the Lynx. Absolutely no love was lost and no beat was skipped. Perhaps the wait and anticipation mounted and spilled over into the matchup, but a treat nonetheless. With the key injuries that had piled up for the Liberty as well as how they'd played lately, expectations among fans were mixed.
Collier and McBride Combine for 54 Points in Victory Over Liberty
Napheesa Collier started early, stretching the defense and connecting on nearly every shot she took. She also made her presence known on the defensive side adding three blocks and finished one rebound shy of a 30 point double double. While Phee puts up numbers like this fairly consistently, the key for victory for the Lynx is strong games from Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams. While Courtney Williams had a quiet 6 points, she had 9 rebounds and a career high 13 assists, affecting the game in other major ways. McBride added 24 points going 5-9 from the arc. Alanna Smith gets the biggest literal and figurative defensive assignment— Jonquel Jones. She plays her tough, snagging key rebounds and adding 12 points. The Lynx hit a season high 15 3-pointers.
Considering all the injuries, there are many silver linings for for the Liberty— Sabrina Ionescu is playing like she has something to say about the MVP. She was the game's highest scorer with 31. Isabelle Harrison made the most of her minutes adding 15 points. Marine "The Magician" Johannes, hit four 3-pointers along the stretch. Natasha Cloud suited up despite illness and still gave 12 points and 7 assists. They had an 11-0 run within 2 mintues and pulled as close as four points late in the fourth quarter. But Collier had enough, earning a three-point play in the next possession with less than a minute left and shutting the door on a rally. Despite the gap in rebounds in this game, New York gave you everything you could want going against the number one team. While moral victories don't show up on stat sheets, this is defintely something that they can build on going forward. Collier said this was "Just another win". But perhaps they were able to take some of the salt from last year and add a dash or two on that Electric Slide.
"International Players Anthem" (I Choose You)
After much suspense, the highly coveted WNBA vet and International star, Emma Meesseman signs with the Liberty. Once getting the visa squared away, she arrived in the states yesterday after a three-year WNBA hiatus. The union makes sense. Not only are the Liberty strong contenders for a championship, Meesseman earned finals MVP (off the bench!) in a championship run in Washington, playing along side Natasha Cloud. She played overseas on elite clubs in Turkey and Russia with Breanna Stewart. Meesseman also had a stint in Russia with then, assistant coach, Sandy Brondello. Some have expressed concern with her three year WNBA absence, but her accomplishments overseas in the interim speak volumes. Some would even say, it is more tough and physical to play internationally. Then, sprinkle in a championship pedigree.
Instantly she comes in at 6'4" boosting size as well as allowing flexibility moving around Breanna Stewart once healthy. Meesseman gives much needed depth and as most would agree significantly augments the Liberty's chances at repeating. Fans of other teams went as far as to say this was indicative of cheating. Assuming we will find out any moment now who the Liberty will have to release, this deal was done on the up and up. It just so happens the Liberty have one of the best GMs in the game with Jonathan Kolb.
New Look Liberty
With the Liberty starting as many as 11 different lineups thus far, chemistry is a concern. Sometimes it's hard when you're trying to gel in live games. "On the job training" can sometimes be the quickest way to learn. If you recall, chemistry was the primary issue during the Liberty's 2023 title chase. The team we are seeing is grinding, having fun, and competing despite adversity. Adversity happens to every team. It will be up to them how they manage. Perhaps we need to schedule another team building pottery class to get back some of this mojo.
The Liberty have two games each versus the Connecticut Sun and Dallas Wings before their next rematch at home against the Lynx. After losing three tough games in a row, the next four games on paper seem very favorable. But, we were thinking that last weekend, weren't we? The bottom line is to get back to Liberty basketball. That 9-0 team from the start of the season. Will the Liberty bounce back or continue to fall in the standings? How will they respond? Should we recommend trust falls in the locker room or laser tag for the next outing? One team could wear Lynx jerseys....just saying!
