Liberty 90, Fever 73: A stunning home opener
The Liberty hope Sunday’s historic win is the first of many times they make history this season
The New York Liberty picked up their first win of the season in their Barclays Center opener, toppling Aliyah Boston and the Indiana Fever 90-73. History was made as Brenna Stewart finished with 45 points, 12 rebounds and six 3-pointers, joining Maya Moore as the only WNBA players with at least 45 points, 10 rebounds and six threes in a game.
“It feels like I made the right decision,” Stewie said on the court after the game, tugging on her Liberty jersey proudly while referring to her decision to come to New York after six years with the Seattle Storm.
Her first basket was a 3-ball coming out from the corner as Sabrina Ionescu drove off a Jonquel Jones screen. Stewart’s catch-and-shoot confidence from deep was affirmed the next time she touched the ball, draining a three from the exact same spot. History was made with two minutes to go in the third quarter, sinking an and-one fadeaway jumper in the paint for her 41st point, breaking the previous franchise record of 40 held by Cappie Pondexter.
The phenomenal Stewart had 29 in the first half alone, leading the Liberty to a 62-35 lead. The energy from the sellout crowd of 8,575 fans at Barclays was palpable, the crowd roaring after every made basket, welcoming Stewart and an improved Liberty roster with open arms. As Winsidr’s Myles Ehrlich put it, “It only took 28 minutes of game-time at Barclays before we got a Stewie MVP chant.”
Ionescu closed with a near triple-double with nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists. The synergy was humming, the dust shaken after two preseason losses and Friday’s season-opening loss to the Washington Mystics, 80-64. Jones scored the Lib’s first basket of the game, posting down low after losing the tip to #1 overall pick Boston. Soon after she put the Liberty into double-digits off a pass from Courtney Vandersloot: a game of “Taps” followed, with Jones catching the ball as she jumped up to lay it in, grabbing her own rebound and battling against NaLyssa Smith in the paint, winning the fight and putting the score at 10-2 with 7:30 to go in the first.
What stands out about this team is something that you can see just from looking at the roster, a realization confirmed when you watch their ball movement, talent and selflessness come game time. That special thing is the amount of options the squad has: the scoring machine in Stewart; the clean shooter and floor general in Ionescu and Vandersloot, respectively; experience and ability to score in Betnijah Laney; and prowess down low by Jones. Add in the talent off the bench in Stefanie Dolson, Kayla Thornton, Han Xu and Jocelyn Willoughby and it seems like the Liberty have many ways to win, as well as the freedom to match-up stylistically based on their opponent.
Speaking after the game, Ionescu said, "We wanna be undefeated at home. We wanna be the best we can in front of our home crowd. Tonight was electric, just seeing the growth these last few years. There were people buzzing two hours before the game and we didn't want to let our fans down." The fans certainly weren’t, as the Liberty put up an impressive and electric offensive performance bolstered by defense that held the Fever to 36% shooting. Jones (14) and Vandersloot (11) joined Stewart as new additions who reached double-figure scoring.
Stewie’s stat line should leave Liberty fans even more optimistic than they were when she announced her move to New York. Perhaps most impressive, her year-old daughter woke up screaming at 6 a.m. on game day. That may need to become a new routine for the Stewart family.
