September 16, 2025
By Jackie Powell
Rebounding, turnovers — and maybe with out Breanna Stewart
Time beyond regulation within the playoffs is nothing new for the New York Liberty. That was a predominant speaking level that got here out of New York’s 76-69 extra time win over the Phoenix Mercury in Sport 1 of the primary spherical of the 2025 WNBA playoffs.
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“I believe we seemed round and form of realized we’d form of been in that place earlier than,” Sabrina Ionescu mentioned postgame. “With the vast majority of us simply understanding how essential extra time is and realizing we had one other gear to get to.”
In a sport that was a slog as a result of each groups being laser-focused on the defensive finish, the Liberty prevailed by executing their defensive sport plan and hitting clutch photographs.
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Head coach Sandy Brondello‘s sport plan was zeroed in on limiting the playmaking and scoring of Alyssa Thomas. The Liberty performed loads of drop protection on her, forcing her to make inefficient photographs farther from the rim. Additionally, Jonquel Jones was deployed to primarily defend Thomas, which with Jones’ size and top made it troublesome for Thomas to keep up her area of view to play make resulting in hesitation in half courtroom units from 2025’s common season assists chief.
“What I believe labored the perfect, I believe we simply have been all on the identical web page,” Jones mentioned of the Liberty’s defensive scheme. “And I believe you simply alluded to it, however the connection was in all probability a very powerful factor of rotating, serving to one another, understanding what the schemes are for the sport, and simply going on the market and executing. However I believe we did a very good job, and now we’ve bought to go to New York and take it as much as one other degree.”
That new degree Wednesday night time in Brooklyn going to begin with their non-negotiables, a few of which they adhered to on Sunday night time and a few that they should add.
Breanna Stewart, whose standing for Sport 2 stays in query after she injured her left knee through the extra time interval, set these previous to the beginning of the playoffs. After the Liberty performed their last common season sport at residence on September 9 towards the Washington Mystics, Stewart spoke to reporters concerning the particulars she and her staff have been specializing in going into the playoffs.
“Controlling the boards after which no stay ball turnovers,” she mentioned. That’s a non-negotiable that should occur all through. We have to be higher with the turnovers, particularly stay ball.”
Rebounding the basketball at a excessive degree, fast decision-making and taking good care of the basketball stay the primary keys that shall be very important for the Liberty surviving and advancing to the WNBA semifinals for third yr in a row.
Not solely did Jones defend Thomas all night time, she pulled down 12 out of the staff’s complete 48 rebounds on Sunday night time.
The Liberty has been self-critical of their very own effort along with their lack of chemistry defensively, citing each as causes they battle to rebound the basketball.
“Our assist in our defensive positioning was not so good as it wanted to be, and it wasn’t well timed sufficient,” assistant coach Olaf Lange informed The Subsequent. “What I imply with that’s we allowed too many gaps, which led to penetration. When you permit an excessive amount of penetration, you might be in assist and you might be out of rebounding place. Now chances are you’ll change the shot to a miss, however now out of place to get inside place and rebound.”
Whereas Jones led the Liberty on the glass, it wasn’t simply her. Nobody within the Liberty’s beginning 5 had fewer than six rebounds. Whereas Emma Meesseman and Kennedy Burke struggled capturing the basketball, there have been moments when each gamers have been alert and made positive to to fly in and safe the rebound.
What stood out essentially the most about Natasha Cloud’s 23-point efficiency on Sunday night time, capturing 75% from the sector, was how she bought these factors. This has been a degree of progress for Cloud all season — she’s had moments the place she’s struggled to maneuver the ball on a second-side motion or has opted to take inefficient photographs fairly than discovering a greater one.
Usually, opposing defenses would go underneath screens on Cloud and the offensive possession would falter. Brondello acknowledged this concern throughout a follow previous to playoffs on September 8.
“ I believe everybody is aware of they’re going underneath,” Brondello mentioned. “Why will we display screen and never hit? Simply sluggish it down. And it’s [Cloud] too. She’s bought to decelerate and the place she will be able to re-space to get a flatter angle or range in our screening, not simply set in a technique, we’re pinching it, arrange strikes, and that’s stuff we simply preserve getting higher, and we’ve labored lots on that. I believe that leads all our processes right here.”
Monique Akoa Makani has performed an ideal job of navigating screens vs. Sabrina Ionescu on this sport. Good counter to have Sabrina DHO to Natasha Cloud, no change, layup.
On Sunday, the Liberty set simpler screens, not just for Cloud to take in-rhythm open three-point photographs, but additionally to permit Cloud to get downhill and make the most of the Mercury’s lack of rim safety whereas ahead Natasha Mack was on the bench.
One Cloud choice could have determined the sport. With underneath a minute left in extra time, she penetrated into two Mercury defenders, together with Kahleah Copper, after which used her pivot foot to show and kick the ball out to Fiebich. Her dagger three sealed the competition for the Liberty.
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The Liberty’s decision-making wasn’t good. The staff dedicated 21 turnovers, tying their season-high for a single sport, and that got here in an unpleasant 78-62 loss to Connecticut again in August.
Most of the turnovers have been of the less-costly dead-ball selection, however some weren’t, resulting in a 15-5 edge for Phoenix in factors off turnovers.
Phoenix might lean into this edge additional, selecting up their protection much more to get extra transition scores off turnovers. If the Liberty aren’t prepared for that, the collection is more likely to return to Phoenix for Sport 3.
The Liberty’s win got here with an asterisk. Breanna Stewart, chargeable for 18 factors, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists within the sport — a lot of the manufacturing at crucial moments — exited the sport with simply over two minutes left in extra time after injuring her left knee, the other knee the place she had sustained a bone bruise earlier this season.
She collied with DeWanna Bonner and Satou Sabally within the air whereas scoring the basketball and drawing the foul earlier than coming down laborious and in apparent ache. She stayed on the ground to try a free throw however then subbed out lower than a minute later.
All through the 2025 common season when somebody like Stewart or Jones would go away the sport with an damage, the staff floundered and misplaced. However on Sunday, nonetheless, there was a spotlight that carried New York to the win.
Moments after Stewart went down and was nonetheless even on the ground staggering round earlier than she was taken out, Ionescu discovered Fiebich on a backdoor minimize and rating, a play that instantly shifted the momentum of the sport again towards the Liberty.
“I believe simply making an attempt to be within the second and perceive what they have been doing defensively,” Ionescu mentioned about what she was seeing on that play to Fiebich. “It was sending whoever on the ball, and I knew… I had an angle to assault downhill, and knew the defenders have been going to be watching the ball, and so I knew that it’d be an ideal alternative to get [Fiebich] on a again minimize. She learn it completely. Timed it completely.
“I believe persevering with to search out alternative ways to assault defenses and form of maintaining them on their toes is one thing we’ve gotten actually good at. And you’ll’t actually go right into a collection, particularly within the playoffs, premeditated on what it’s you need to do. It’s simply no matter it takes for the staff to win. That’s what you do.”
Reporting on NBA Right this moment: Breanna Stewart is present process an MRI and extra testing right this moment on the left knee damage which prompted her to depart the Liberty’s Sport 1 OT win in Phoenix on Sunday. Be aware, this isn’t the knee which prompted her to overlook time this season. pic.twitter.com/efxwHFbOqe
Stewart acquired an MRI and additional analysis again in New York on Monday. She stays an unknown for the Liberty. Whereas the Liberty performed virtually a complete month this season with out her from late July by means of late August, New York actually struggled they usually missed the glue of their team that their offense and protection are constructed round.
If Stewart is out for Sport 2 and for the remainder of the playoffs, Meesseeman, who solely scored 2 factors and Jones who solely scored 7 factors on 7 photographs, are going to need to step up offensively if the Liberty have an opportunity to not solely return to the semifinals however go even additional.
Jackie Powell covers the New York Liberty for The Subsequent and hosts episodes of Locked on Girls’s basketball the place she explores nationwide girls’s basketball tales. She additionally has coated girls’s basketball and the tradition of the game for Bleacher Report, Sports activities Illustrated, MSNBC, Yahoo Sports activities, Harper’s Bazaar and SLAM. She additionally self identifies as a Woman Gaga stan, is a connoisseur of pop music and is a psychological well being advocate.
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