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NEW YORK – There was no unique way for members of the New York Liberty to turn the page after their historic Game 1 collapse against the Minnesota Lynx.
Observer Sabrina Ionescu said she couldn’t just “flush” the result. Forward Leonie Fiebich watched the game in full three times in the 36 hours immediately following the overtime loss. Veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot described progress “as a process.”
Liberty coach Sandy Brondello was glad there were two days between Game 1 and Game 2 so she had more time to watch film and think. But a new match started just after 3pm on Sunday. And with that, a new chapter in the series was written.
While there were moments that felt eerily similar — New York, for example, saw a 17-point lead shrink to just two with 3:21 left in the game — Sunday’s sequel featured a player who had a relatively minimal impact in the opener: Liberty wing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.
Laney-Hamilton played the fewest minutes (26) of all New York starters in Game 1. In the Liberty’s 80–66 Game 2 win, she scored 20 points, tying her season high. Laney-Hamilton hit a three-pointer with 3:20 to go, the biggest shot of the game, cutting the lead to five.
She then grabbed a rebound on the ensuing possession as the Barclays Center record 18,040 fans in attendance rejoiced.
That Laney-Hamilton emerged as Sunday’s star is especially impressive given Brondello’s projection of Saturday’s flank. She played only 28 games during the regular season, missing time from July 6 to August 26 due to a knee procedure.
“She gives what she can,” Brondello said Saturday. ‘I think everyone can see that she’s trying. It’s not the same B we’ve seen all season, but it is what it is.”
She did more than just try. In addition to her offensive contributions, she spent time guarding Courtney Williams (who finished with just 15 points on Sunday, down from 23 in Game 1) and Kayla McBride (who had just eight points after putting up 22 points on Thursday).
And yet, despite the boost from Laney-Hamilton, plus rebound games from Stewart (21 points, eight rebounds and five assists) and Ionescu (15 points), there were still moments when the two games seemed the same. New York jumped out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter, but by the 6:52 mark of the period it led by just six.
The Liberty led by 10 heading into halftime, but that was cut to four points with just 90 seconds left. In the fourth quarter, New York’s lead grew to 11, but it also shrank. With just under four minutes left, the Liberty led by just two and those in attendance felt the tension similar to the waning moments of Game 1.
This time, however, there would be no collapse.
Stewart had three, of her finals record of seven, in the last five minutes. Jonquel Jones hit a timely layup with 3:57 left. Fiebich paused, took a deep breath and scored a wide-open three-pointer with 90 seconds left to extend New York’s lead to nine points.
After doing so, as Minnesota took a timeout, Laney-Hamilton clenched her fist. So did Ionescu.
Collier played a modest game by her standards (16 points and eight rebounds), while a late three-point attempt by Williams that rolled off the rim was a sign that Sunday afternoon would be different than Thursday night.
Game 3 of the 1-1 series is Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 8:00 PM ET.
Laney-Hamilton becomes X-factor
Laney-Hamilton is less than three months removed from a procedure to remove two loose bodies from her right knee. She came off the bench during her performance step up to a full return and is still playing limited shifts in the postseasonwhere everyone acknowledges it Laney-Hamilton won’t be 100 percent in this series.
But even at less than her best, the 2021 All-Star could still be better. Laney-Hamilton had scored in double figures once in New York’s seven postseason games entering Sunday, shooting 29.1 percent from the floor.
The Liberty needed more offense in Game 2, with Minnesota covering Fiebich tighter after her five 3-pointers Thursday, and Laney-Hamilton came through. She was aggressive coming off screens and made strong drives to the basket.
When New York’s offense stalled, they took advantage of switches by posting up upwards smaller defenders in the post.
Laney-Hamilton hit one of the biggest shots of the night, a three-pointer in the corner after a no-look, kick out passing by Ionescu to extend the Liberty’s lead to five points, 71-66, with 3:21 remaining in the game. Minnesota would never get within one possession again after that.
Her 20 points tied a season high; the last time she reached that total was before the Olympics break, and before her surgery.
In Game 1, Brondello couldn’t get Laney-Hamilton on the court because of the way she was moving. It would have been impossible to keep Laney-Hamilton off the floor on Sunday. — Sabreena Merchant, women’s basketball staff writer
Minnesota remains resilient loss
The Lynx again fell behind early against the Liberty, this time trailing by 17 points in the second quarter (compared to 18 in Game 1).
But Minnesota is steadfast in its position system of ball movementconfident that the defense will eventually break and that the pressure defense will cause the opponent’s attack to stagnate. IIt looked like the formula was going to work again as the Lynx nearly wiped out the deficit yet again, within two points in the fourth quarter.
Although they couldn’t do it to break through, to have come so close to potentially taking a decisive 2-0 lead in the series, bodes well for when the series switches to Minnesota.
Kayla McBride and Napheesa Collier highlighted their team’s resistance after Game 1, even though the 45 minutes contained a series of mistakes, and that dedication shone through again Sunday, despite the result. — Trader
Required reading
(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images)