For most of this season, the New York Liberty held one of the top two spots in the WNBA standings, battling the Minnesota Lynx, the team they defeated in last year\u2019s finals. \u00a0<\/p>\n
But the past month has been turbulent for the Liberty. They were 17-6 on July 25 yet enter tonight\u2019s home game at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn against the Washington Mystics 23-15, having gone 8-9 over their last 15 games and falling to fifth in the standings. When the league\u2019s schedule tipped off yesterday (Wednesday), the Liberty trailed the first place Lynx (30-7), Atlanta Dream (24-13), Las Vegas Aces (25-14) and Phoenix Mercury (23-14). <\/p>\n
Injuries have been a factor in the Liberty\u2019s setback. Now, with the return of star forward Breanna Stewart on Monday as New York hosted the Connecticut Sun at Barclays, they should once again start to resemble the squad that began this season 9-0 \u2014 the best start in franchise history.<\/p>\n
Stewart, a three-time WNBA champion,\u00a0and two-time WNBA regular season and finals MVP,\u00a0missed 13 straight games after suffering a bone bruise in her right knee on July 26. She had an immediate impact back in the lineup on Monday, leading the team with 19 points in only 21 minutes in the tight 81-79 win. Forward\/center\u00a0Jonquel Jones notched a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, pushing the team\u2019s record to an astonishing 33-0 when she posts double figures in points and rebounds.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Stewart) just has this relentlessness about her that can rub off on her teammates,\u201d Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said before the\u00a0game. \u201cShe\u2019s got the highest motor I\u2019ve ever seen in a player that just keeps going and going. <\/p>\n
Now, tonight she\u2019s not going to be happy because I have to take her out all the time, but it is just nice to be out there. Just the vibe that she brings to the team, the confidence that she brings to the team. They are all intangibles, what we have missed in this long month.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brondello noted the team will have to regain connectivity,\u00a0particularly with Stewart playing with forward Emma Meesseman, who debuted with the team on August 3 after not playing in the WNBA since 2022. Coming back to the league from a successful stint in Europe, where she won several titles, Meesseman, a WNBA champion and Finals MVP with the Mystics in 2019, has averaged 13.2 points and 5.5 rebounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow it\u2019s about building chemistry,\u201d said Brondello,\u00a0because we have players in and out all the time. That\u2019s the hardest part right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brondello experimented with a big lineup on Monday, featuring the 6-foot-6-inch Jones playing alongside Stewart, Emma Meesseman, and Leonie Fiebich, all 6-4 or taller. Brondello does not have much time to maximize the team\u2019s potential, but with so many talented and accomplished players on the team, it appears to be a great problem to have. <\/p>\n
Still, unlike last year, when the Liberty had the best record in the WNBA and home court advantage throughout the playoffs, they will not have that luxury this season. The Liberty have six regular season games remaining. After the Mystics tonight, they have road games versus Mercury on Saturday and Golden State Valkyries on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
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