Liberty 84, Sun 77: Solar eclipse
The Liberty got back to who they are in Game 2, which got them back to what they do — win
Including the playoffs, the New York Liberty have played 44 games this year. They’ve won 35 and are now just two wins away from the WNBA Finals after last night’s 84-77 win over Connecticut evened their semifinals series 1-1. If you could hop in your DeLorean, go back in time to the start of the season and show those facts to anyone who roots for the Lib, they’d be impressed. The most impressive thing about those 44 games may not be the wins, but that none of the nine losses have come consecutively.
We’re more than four months into the season and New York has yet to endure a losing streak. The playoffs are the absolute worst time to do so, so the Liberty came into last night more desperate for a win than they have been probably all year. A dominant second half did the trick, turning a four-point deficit into a double-digits win. As meaningful as the victory itself was, the manner in which the Liberty won gives hope they didn’t just even the series, but took control of it.
You ever hear someone say some sport is invaluable because it teaches participants life lessons? And you’re like “Duh. So does life.” Sports doesn’t teach people anymore than music or dance or cooking does. The lessons are the same; only the vehicle differs. There’s one principle I’ve encountered both as a pitcher with the based loaded against me and a pianist performing at a recital that’s useful to remember when things get intense, and that is this: slow down.
When adrenaline is pumping, the instinct is to charge ahead. You want to relieve that tension, ideally by running right through it. So with the bases loaded, it’s easy to fall into trying to overthrow the ball, or aim it too precisely instead of just trusting the mechanics that you normally rely on to hit your target. If you’re playing Rachmaninoff and the music is about to accelerate, it’s easy to start to speed up even before you get to those notes, instead of just trusting the mechanics that you rely on to reach the right tempo.
After losing Game 1, the Liberty needed to change the result. They did so by returning to their process.
Balance. This is a balanced team. Even on the day Breanna Stewart was named MVP – rightfully – it was everyone doing what everyone does that put New York on top. All five starters took between 11 and 13 shots. All five scored in double-figures. There was no hero ball, no panicked give-in to just force-feeding Stewart. Early on, as in Game 1, Jonquel Jones ruled the rim area; in the decisive third quarter, Jones was the only starter who didn’t score, while the others combined for eight baskets, twice as many as the Sun scored that frame. Many hands make light work.
Tiffany Hayes scored nine of her game-high 30 in the fourth for the Sun, but Betnijah Laney and Courtney Vandersloot each did as well; two queens trump one. Sabrina Ionescu has not been given a clean look from deep since her record-setting bombing of Washington in Game 1 of that series. Did she force it? Nope; instead, she got to the free throw line 10 times (making all 10) while dishing five assists. And while Stewart is still working to get her shot back to its usual MVP form, she finished with a double-double, also had five dimes and finally broke her 3-point drought by draining one in the fourth.
The Liberty fell behind in this series, but they never got off-track. Now the action shifts to Connecticut, where New York will play its first road game in three weeks. The Sun have made it clear they’re not going anywhere. The Liberty proved the same. We’ll see which immovable object flinches first Friday.
