By: Richard Jean
New York took a short break after the exciting week with four wins in five games and a WNBA Commissioner’s Cup championship win.
The New York Liberty defeated the Chicago Sky 89-73 on Friday, August 11, at home. Breanna Stewart scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu scored 19 points, including 5 of 8 3-pointers. The Liberty won their fifth straight game and tied their franchise record of 23 wins in a season. New York led by 12 after the first quarter and by 8 at halftime. Entering the fourth, with the Liberty up by 9, New York outscored Chicago 25-18 in the final 10 minutes. New York led by as many as 23 in the final quarter, while Chicago never led at any point in the game. Alanna Smith and Marina Mabrey scored 19 and 12 points, respectively, for the Sky in the loss. Chicago fell to 12-17 following the game and was ranked 8th seed in the standings for the 2023 WNBA playoffs.
New York’s road trip started on Sunday, August 13 in the Hooiser state where the Liberty defeated the Indiana Fever 100-89. Stewart propelled the Liberty to a new franchise record of 24 wins in a season, with her 42-point performance.
The highlight of the Liberty’s road trip came on Tuesday, August 15, in Sin City where they overcame a two point halftime deficit to out-score the Las Vegas Aces 50-29 in the second half, winning 82-63 and securing the franchise’s first-ever Commissioner Cup Championship, the WNBA’s in-season tournament which pits the top teams in the eastern and western conferences against each other, now in its third installment. Players competed for a prize pool and a pool of money for charitable organizations. Marine Johannes, who came off the bench, led all Liberty scorers with 17 points, including five 3-pointers, while Jonquel Jones, Stewart and Ionescu scored 16, 13 and 12 points, respectively. Each player on the Liberty received approximately $30,000 for winning the Cup while the Aces’ players received approximately $10,000.
New York’s only loss during the week came Aug. 17. The Aces exacted revenge as they defeated the Liberty 88-75, halting the team’s seven game win-streak. Four of the five Aces’ starters scored in double figures, with Chelsea Gray and A’ja Wilson leading the way with 22 and 21 points, respectively. Ionescu led the Liberty with 22 points in the defeat.
The Liberty bounced back in Phoenix and outpaced the Phoenix Mercury to win 85-63 in the desert on Friday. New York’s Betnijah Laney led all scorers with 22 points, while Ionescu and Johannes each scored 18 points in the victory.
The Liberty had a 25-7 record and were atop the Eastern conference following the game in Phoenix. Eight regular season matches remained to play. New York enjoyed a six day hiatus before continuing their road trip escapades. The next stop: the Nutmeg State to face the Connecticut Sun on August 24 and then to the twin cities to face the Minnesota Lynx two days later.
