Liberty head to the playoffs in a winning state of mind
Even with their playoff spot secure and their seed at or near the top locked in, the New York Liberty are sustaining their focus as regular season WNBA play heads to the finish. Last Friday, the Liberty celebrated its first West Indian Night, developed in recognition of Jonquel Jones’s Bahamian roots. The team marked the night with an 89–58 thrashing of the Connecticut Sun before another sellout crowd at Barclays Center.
The Liberty then headed out to the Windy City, taking on the Chicago Sky. New York increased its best-ever winning record with an 86–69 victory. The two victories were achieved despite the absence of Sabrina Ionescu, who was out with a calf injury, and some rough moments. The game marked the 33rd time this season that the Liberty finished with 20-plus assists: a new WNBA single-season record.
New York was 30-7 and had the second-best record in the league behind the Las Vegas Aces as of Tuesday when they met up with the Dallas Wings on the road.
Four Liberty players scored in double figures, among them guard/forward Jocelyn Willoughby, a New Jersey native, who came off the bench for 10 points and four rebounds. “Jocelyn had great minutes for us today; I think that was a big turning point for us,” said Courtney Vandersloot, who had 20 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds in the win over the Sky.
Head coach Sandy Brondello noted that Willoughby, who hasn’t seen a lot of minutes this season, stayed ready for the opportunity to prove herself. “Came on and executed perfectly,” said Brondello. “Took the shots when she was open, played really great defense, and that’s what we expect of her. I see what we need out there. We have total trust [that] if we do put her out there, she’ll play really hard.
“This team is tough,” she added. “It’s way more fun when we [get] back to it. It wasn’t as much fun early, but it’s a good game for us to have some adversity like that heading into the playoffs. Being able to claw our way out and get a really good win.”
The Liberty host the Los Angeles Sparks, who are fighting for a playoff spot, tonight at the Barclays Center. They will end the regular season by playing the Washington Mystics on Sunday afternoon in Brooklyn in their annual Fan Appreciation game. The final playoff spots for the rest of the league probably won’t be decided until after all regular season games are played.
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