And down the stretch they come!
While the WNBA race for postseason positioning may not replicate the excitement during the final half-minute of the Kentucky Derby, the New York Liberty are going to the whip this month in pursuit of the top overall seed.
Owners of the best record in the league with seven games remaining, the Liberty (27-6) aren’t taking any opponent for granted.
They had won a season-high-tying eight in a row before a sobering loss to second-place Connecticut (24-9) on Aug. 24, when they were last seen in Downtown Brooklyn.
New York did go 2-1 on its three-game road trip, with two impressive wins in Phoenix and Seattle sandwiched around a baffling letdown at league-worst Los Angeles on Aug. 28.
The Liberty were in danger of losing two in a row for the first time since late May last Friday before pulling away for a 98-85 victory that saw them outrebound the Storm by a stunning 45-17 margin, the widest in franchise history.
With a star-laden roster featuring reigning WNBA Most Valuable Player Breanna Stewart, 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones and All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu, New York has not been shy about its desire to raise the first-ever world championship banner at Barclays Center.
“Well, I’ve got really good players now,” said Liberty coach Sandy Brondello after grabbing her 75th win with New York since taking over at the helm in 2022.
The Australian native came here after eight playoff years in Phoenix, where she guided the Mercury to the 2014 WNBA crown.
Now, she’s aiming to deliver Title I to the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush.
“Such a great organization and we’ve got great aspirations to try and win that championship and hope that will happen,” Brondello added, “But you know, we just got to keep focused.”
Of course, New York’s Big Three aren’t the only contributors to this deep…
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