Breanna Stewart and the Liberty had to absorb a tough home loss Wednesday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd at Barclays Center. Photo by Brittany Keesling/New York Liberty
The New York Liberty will be in our nation’s capital Friday night looking to get better on defense, show more aggressiveness along the boards and do what All-Star captain Breanna Stewart referred to as all “the little things” it takes to win.
That sounds like a lot of room for improvement for a team that still boasts the best record in the Eastern Conference.
“We need to continue to do the little things. The dirty work,” Stewart insisted after Wednesday afternoon’s 98-88 loss to surging Dallas in front of a sellout crowd of 9,012 disappointed fans at Downtown’s Barclays Center.
“Every team in the WNBA is talented and can beat any team on any given night,” she added.
That certainly proved true in this matinee as the Liberty (14-5), looking to complete their first five-game winning streak of the year, nose-dived in the third quarter of an otherwise back-and-forth tilt.
New York was outscored 29-16 in the third quarter by the Wings (12-9), who went on a 30-9 burst spanning the final two periods to open an 83-67 cushion with 8:40 remaining in regulation.
“They exploited us with their size,” said Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, referring to Dallas’ 12 offensive rebounds and 40-36 edge on the boards. “It’s a great test for us. We have to work out how to beat them.”
Arike Ogunbowale scored 25 points and Teaira McGowan added 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Wings, who took advantage of New York’s lack of interior size en route to their season-high fourth consecutive victory.
The Liberty are still waiting for centers Stefanie Dolson (ankle) and Han Xu (international commitment) to return to the lineup.
Dallas turned the ball over a league record-low two times while forcing 13 giveaways by New York.
“We just have to weather the storm right now,”…
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