Breanna Stewart and the Liberty can secure no worse than the No. 2 seed in the WNBA playoffs with a win over the Sun in Downtown Brooklyn Friday night. AP Photo by Steve Marcus
The New York Liberty still have hopes of reeling in the Las Vegas Aces for the top overall seed in next month’s WNBA playoffs.
But a victory over the Connecticut Sun at Downtown’s Barclays Center Friday night will at least assure them of first place in the Eastern Conference during this banner year and no worse than the No. 2 slot in the postseason.
Playing their best basketball of the season and coming off their third win in four meetings with the league-leading Aces (30-6) this month, the Liberty (28-7) can eclipse the Sun’s hopes of finishing first and complete a 4-0 season-series sweep of last year’s conference champions.
“We have to make sure we don’t miss opportunities,” WNBA Most Valuable Player candidate Breanna Stewart said after Monday’s 94-85 win over Vegas Monday here in Brooklyn.
“It’s the experience, it’s having been in these big moments in playoff-type situations, and continuing to build off that.”
New York has won all but one of its last 12 contests while grabbing the Commissioner’s Cup crown on Aug. 15 in Vegas during this spectacular run.
The Liberty, who failed to win five games in a row at any point this season before mid-August, are suddenly seeking their second such streak since July 30.
They won a season-high six straight from July 30-Aug. 13.
Though they were tabbed a preseason favorite to reach the WNBA Finals and have been touted one of the league’s “Super Teams”, it took some time for the Liberty to develop as a formidable unit, much less one that is threatening to bring home the franchise’s first-ever title.
“Time together. That’s the growth,” coach Sandy Brondello noted when asked about her team’s late-season development. “The more time we spend together that we can work out how we want to execute.
“These…
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