Dream 86, Liberty 79: What a difference a few days makes
Atlanta wins the rematch, but New York is encouraged by the play of one of last year’s holdovers
What a difference a few days makes. Last Friday, the new-look New York Liberty beat the Atlanta Dream 106-83 thanks to a fantastic effort by franchise player Sabrina Ionescu. Coming off the heels of career-highs in points and 3-pointers, Ionescu sat out Tuesday’s matchup to rest her tight hamstring. So, who steps in and takes the place of one of the best players in the W for a rematch with the Dream?
French native Marine Johannès understood the assignment: come in, make shots and pass the ball well. While the Liberty fell 86-79, she finished the night with 18 points and four assists. Head coach Sandy Brondello had this to say about the effort: "I was proud of her, she didn't overthink it. I want her to play instinctually. She made some big shots for us, and she'll continue to get more comfortable the longer she's here."
Johannès is one of those players that is young, athletic, and can do things with the ball that look like she’s just showing off. Her comfort out the gates was noticeable.
If that’s not enough, she led all Liberty players in scoring, edging out Betnijah Laney’s 17-point effort. (Still want more? Check out a Johannès highlight reel from the most recent Euro Cup.) Lacking the star caliber of Ionescu, coupled Breanna Stewart’s low-scoring night (she missed 13 of 14 shots, yet had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds), the Liberty looked to a role player like Johannès to step in and step up. Being ready isn’t something that is new to her.
“I knew it before I arrived here, and I’m just ready to do it,” Johannès said about her role Sunday after the Dallas game. “Whatever Coach Sandy is going to ask me to do, I will try best . . . We know that Stewie, [Jonquel Jones], [Courtney Vandersloot] and Sab are the biggest players on the team. We have to play for them, we have to know how to play around them. I just accept my role and am just happy to help the team.”
The trajectory of Johannès’s career with the Liberty has been on a steady rise. The French phenom went undrafted in 2017, but was picked up two years later by the Liberty. In her debut W season, she averaged 7.2 points in 19 minutes, yet didn’t see the court again until 2022 due to COVID and overseas commitments. Last night she got her first ever start for the Liberty. Johannès’s wizardry propelled the Lib’s offensive efforts, with Vandersloot and Betnijah Laney handling things defensively for much of the game.
This tells us that even when Stewie’s shots aren’t falling, Sab is sitting, or another player may be out that there are more than enough players to step up. Despite the loss, Jones presents a dominant presence down low, posting 12 points and six rebounds in her best game so far with the Lib. Sloot continues to be an effective general, with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists. Stephanie Dolson added 7 points off the bench, and Jocelyn Willoughby added a pair of points and rebounds.
We also can never forget about Laney, a former All-Star who has had to adapt her style of play this year, focusing even more on defense than she has in the past. "B — she worked her butt off,” said Brondello. “She was on [Rhyne] Howard, [Allisha] Gray, then [Haley] Jones to pressure. That’s her role, that’s what we’ve asked of her. She got to score a little more tonight, too."
There are many takeaways from the game tonight (I didn’t even mention Barclays was partying on a Tuesday night), but one thing is for sure: the Liberty have depth. We knew this going into the season with core players returning and superstars being added. After the loss to the Dream, Liberty fans should be optimistic about the rest of the season. The Dream are now 3-5, fifth in the East, while the Liberty sit at #2 with a 6-3 record, second in the conference behind Connecticut. The Dream have a solid group of really talented players, but as mentioned in the press conference before the start of the season, championships are won after months of refining.
That’s what is happening now, and we can look ahead to the Father’s Day matchup against Phoenix, Brondello’s former team. The Mercury are fifth in the Western Conference with a 3-6 record, but have some of the most notable names in the game: Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Sophie Cunningham, former Liberty player Michaela Onyenwere and Evina Westbrook. A game against vets and a solid team will be a great way for the Liberty to respond to a loss at home.
Until then, can we get a little respect for the role players?
