New York Liberty

New York Liberty’s comeback effort falls just short against Indiana

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A combined 41 points from Kia Nurse and Layshia Clarendon weren’t enough for the New York Liberty to overcome a double-digit deficit.

The New York Liberty continue to put up solid 25-30 minute efforts in a most unusual WNBA season, but the cruel reality is that professional games last 40.

Kia Nurse and Layshia Clarendon united for 41 points, but the Liberty were unable to erase a deficit that got as high as 16, falling to the Indiana Fever by an 86-79 final on Thursday night in the Bradenton bubble. Tiffany Mitchell led the way with 19 points for Indiana, while the unrelated Kelsey Mitchell had 18 more.

“(Indiana) is good. They got to the rim. Our bigs were afraid to leave their (assignments) because of the offensive rebound ability,” head coach Walt Hopkins said in a postgame Zoom call. “I thought the rhythm the Mitchells set really set the tone.”

The Liberty (1-8) fell behind early, trailing 27-17 after the first quarter. Their halftime deficit was 11, but the remainder of the game was played mostly in the close confines of single digits. New York was able to get as close as five in the third quarter and whittled it all the way down to two in the latter stages. A late defensive lapse, however, allowed the Fever (4-5) to escape with a win.

Kelsey Mitchell, mostly held in check after 13 points in the first half, provided the dagger with a three-pointer that made it 82-77 with 31 seconds to go. New York allowed only 35 points in the second half after trailing 51-40 at halftime.

Clarendon scored quickly on the other side, but Indiana sank their free throws to close it out.

The unfortunate part for the LIberty was that their strong showing came as Nurse, a 2019 All-Star, began to find a bit of a stride. She shot only 4-of-15 from the field but she found new ways to contribute, complimenting a season-best 21 points with six rebounds. Nurse also got to the foul line 12 times, converting all but one of her attempts.

“She’s still putting in the work,” Clarendon said of Nurse’s efforts. “She had a conversation with Coach Walt with what else she can be doing. She had six rebounds and played with a lot of energy and hustle. She’s finding ways to impact the game.”

“Outside of shots falling, Nurse played really, really well,” Hopkins added. “On a night when shots weren’t falling, she found a way. That was impressive.”

Rookie Jazmine Jones also reached double-figures (11 points) for the second straight game after tallying a career-best 24 on Tuesday against Los Angeles. Both Clarendon and fellow veteran Kiah Stokes each played nearly 37 minutes, with Stokes tallying nine points on a career-best three triples.

Two of the Liberty’s past three losses have come by single digits. They’ll get another chance against Indiana on September 10.

The Liberty return to action on Saturday for a rematch with the Minnesota Lynx (6 p.m. ET, CBSSN). Minnesota won the first of two matchups on August 5, using a strong third quarter to earn a 92-66 triumph.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

New York Liberty: Jazmine Jones earns another career high in late loss to LA (Highlights)

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An infantile career-best for Jazmine Jones wasn’t enough to make up for a flat first quarter from the New York Liberty on Tuesday night.

Doomed by a brutal first quarter, the New York Liberty still managed to keep the theme of wrangling positives from a tough loss.

Sydney Wiese and Riquana Williams of the Los Angeles Sparks combined scored 17 points each on a combined 8-of-12 shooting from three-point range, keying a 93-78 victory over New York on late Tuesday night. Liberty rookie Jazmine Jones led all scorers with a young personal-best 24 in defeat.

“I think tonight was more of a team-focused loss,” head coach Walt Hopkins said. “I thought we had some really good individual defensive efforts. Points off of turnovers just absolutely killed us, 26 turnovers for 24 points. Otherwise, I thought that this team was remarkably resilient. It would’ve been easy to lie down and let that be a 30-point game. They just refused to let that happen. I’m proud of them for how tough they are.”

The Liberty (1-7) came out flat in the opening stages of a late tip-off, falling victim to the Sparks’ sharp-shooting from deep. Los Angeles (5-3) sank 6-of-7 three-point attempts in the first ten minutes, creating a 28-14 lead at the first stoppage. From that point on, New York was only able to come as close as nine points despite losing by only one point over the final three stages.

Jones was the most consistent silver lining for the Liberty, coming off the bench to score 24 points and swipe five balls. The Louisville alumna was the 12th and final pick of the WNBA Draft’s first-round back in April.

“Jaz was a much, much-needed spark (especially) in that first quarter,” Hopkins said. “We were having trouble scoring and she kind of willed us, willed us back into that first quarter and kind of gave us some momentum going forward.”

Yet, Jones was willing to sacrifice it all for a win and focused primarily on her five turnovers in her postgame statements. The Liberty turned the ball over 26 times in their latest downfall. Jones also made it clear that her young, historic effort meant little in the context of another loss, saying “I would’ve taken 5 points and us winning rather than 24 and us losing”.

“I had five turnovers myself. For me, personally, that’s unacceptable,” Jones said. “I’m really hard on myself about turning the ball over and I only had one assist too. Being a backup point guard, I can’t come in and turn the ball over. Those five turnovers are unacceptable.”

Five players reached double figures for the Sparks, who won back-to-back games for the first time this season. New York put up a strong performance at the foul line, converting all but one of their 23 attempts. The two squads will meet up against on September 8 in the latter stages of the Liberty’s Bradenton bubble season.

The Liberty return to action on Thursday evening, taking on the Indiana Fever for the first time this season (6 p.m. ET, YES).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

New York Liberty fall in a heartbreaker to Las Vegas (Highlights)

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A’ja Wilson’s big day ended the New York Liberty’s chances at starting a winning streak on Sunday late afternoon in Bradenton.

The New York Liberty’s good fortune ended on Sunday evening against Las Vegas.

A’ja Wilson’s game-winner with 6.9 seconds remaining capped off a 31-point performance from the WNBA’s leading scorer. It allowed her Las Vegas Aces to survive another strong effort from Amanda Zahui B and the Liberty, who fell just short of starting a winning streak in a 78-76 heartbreaker in the Bradenton bubble.

“I thought our team deserved to win that game. I thought our players deserved to win,” Liberty head coach Walt Hopkins said. “(Las Vegas) is a potential title team, this is a team that can be in the WNBA Finals. This is an extremely talented, well-coached team and we played them to the very end. We played them to the last possession.”

Coming off their first win of the season on Friday night against Washington, the Liberty (1-6) carried momentum into their Sunday showdown. They led for a majority of the game, going toe-to-toe with one of the league’s most complete teams. New York even led by as many as 12 throughout the course of the game.

Amanda Zahui B once again rose to the occasion with the Liberty missing both Sabrina Ionescu and Kylee Shook (right foot). The Stockholm-born interior threat picked up where she left off from Friday’s double-double performance, sinking six three-pointers over the first three frames. It was one short of the team record Zahui B tied during a 37-point performance in Los Angeles last season.

“We put ourselves in a great position to win,” Zahui B noted in her availability. “Keep pushing, keep building. I think the first thing we said when we got to the locker room was that we have really grown from our first game. If this had been a week ago, we could’ve lost by 30. We fought through the whole game, stayed together, and we got to keep on building. We’re a young team, nobody believes in us, and we’ve got to earn everything.”

Foul trouble, however, proved to play a role in the Liberty’s downfall. Picking her fourth infraction in the midway stages of the third, Zahui B took to the bench, allowing Las Vegas (5-2) to eat into the Liberty lead. Wilson tallied 18 points in the second half and visited the foul line 12 times, missing all but one of her attempts. Vegas also enjoyed late heroics and forced turnovers from veteran newcomer Angel McCoughtry.

The Liberty still had an opportunity to escape with a victory after Wilson’s heroics. Kia Nurse’s would-be winner fell short but was touched by Las Vegas as it went out of bounds. The Aces’ defense thwarted Layshia Clarendon’s ensuing inbounds pass, but New York still had 0.5 seconds to work with. Another attempt saw a Clarendon inbound go to Leaonna Odom, who put in the apparent equalizer, but the clock had been started before the ball was touched, forcing yet another retry.

One last Vegas swat sealed the deal, and the Aces earned their fourth consecutive victory.

“We should be playing overtime right now,” Hopkins said. “I don’t know if it was a scoreboard malfunction or if it was actually the scorekeeper who started it early. I would guess it’s the scorekeeper because it’s not automated. So somebody made a really big mistake and stole the game from us.”

Despite the loss, the Liberty felt that they had several positives to work with. Clarendon tallied 15 points and fell two rebounds short of a double-double, while rookie free agent Joyner Holmes had an infantile career-best 11 points. Kiah Stokes had a season-best 12 rebounds, her best output since returning to the Liberty lineup after sitting out last season.

“I think we’re more focused, especially on the little things,” Stokes said. “We weren’t going as hard as we could. I think we really made an effort over the last couple of days to do the little things, especially clean up turnovers, box out. Obviously, we still have things to work on, but now we’re in games and winning games. It stinks that we lost today but it’s a step in the right direction and it shows how good we can be.”

The Liberty and Aces will meet up again on August 29. New York’s season will continue against Western Conference competition on Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Sparks (10 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Go).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

New York Liberty credit special team meeting as inspiration behind big win

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Head coach Walt Hopkins credited a moving team meeting as the source behind the New York Liberty’s first win in the WNBA bubble.

Asked about the atmosphere behind his first victory as a WNBA head coach, Walt Hopkins remarked that it featured “a whole lot of water”. The New York Liberty’s social media accounts were more than happy to prove his words were quite literal.

Friday night saw Hopkins guide his team to a 74-66 win over the defending WNBA champion Washington Mystics in the Bradenton bubble. As the final seconds ticked away, Hopkins remained stoic, only cracking a slight smile when his players joyfully surrounded him.

Once he got to the Liberty’s makeshift locker room, however, Hopkins finally let his guard down as members of the Liberty (1-5) doused him with water, his wide grin lost in his players’ aquatic assault. It didn’t take long for Hopkins to return to basketball matters, jokingly declaring that his copy of the box score was lost to the storm.

“We didn’t want to celebrate on the court, we wanted to act like we’ve been there,” Hopkins said in a postgame Zoom call. “It’s extremely touching that they care that it’s my first win, because it’s their first win too. But they were really warm and really genuine. It’s a pretty cool moment.”

Hopkins was named the eighth head coach in Liberty history in January after three seasons of a de facto apprenticeship under the legendary Cheryl Reeve in Minnesota. His first head coaching endeavor has already offered challenges some coaches will never experience in decades. Opt-outs and transactions have given the Liberty one of the youngest teams in North American professional sports history, packed with seven rookies. This was even before the 2020 season was shifted to Florida’s IMG Academy in the wake of the ongoing health crisis, postponing the Liberty’s full-time Barclays Center debut.

The infantile squad perhaps pales in modern comparison with the competition, many of whom are firmly planted in “win-now” mode. Consolation reigned with the idea of consequence-free games headlined by top overall pick Sabrina Ionescu, but she was lost to an ankle sprain in her third WNBA game. There’s no word as to whether her rookie season will resume.

Valiant efforts that followed were marred by garish ten-minute showings. Hopkins himself noted in Friday’s pregame that the team seemed to have “one bad quarter” in each of their showings to date. For example, that narrowed a 14-point deficit to one late in the third quarter against Phoenix last weekend but were outscored 41-13 the rest of the way. In Hopkins’ first get-together against Reeve (and his New York predecessor Katie Smith) on Wednesday, the Liberty led after the first quarter and shot 55 percent in the first half, but were on the wrong end of a 27-6 margin in the third.

So Hopkins did what every family, every business, every unified, rational organization does in a time of crisis…talk it out.

Hopkins revealed in his postgame media discussion that the team met for an emotional meeting prior to the contest against Washington. Labeling it an “everyone get it out on the table” discussion, it was part of the reason Hopkins was looking as lively as possibly could prior to a difficult challenge.

“The thing I’ll remember the most (about the first win) is that we had one of those meetings,” Hopkins said. “Let’s talk through this, let’s talk about specifically what we have to do to get better. We went around after the (Minnesota) game and before the (Washington) game and we asked, what is your controllable? Everyone said one thing. Everyone controlled their controllable today. All the team stats we talked about limiting, we limited.”

“That’s the thing I’m going to remember: the response to a really emotional meeting. It’s really special.”

The game against the Mystics featured a sense of controllable sloppiness. The Liberty led by an 18-14 tally at the end of the first, but ended it in tremendous fashion, with Megan Walker finding fellow rookies Joyner Holmes in transition after a Washington miss. It commenced a 16-5 Liberty run that helped them build a lead they’d never relinquish. 

Hopkins carefully managed the final portions, fatefully calling a timeout with the Liberty up by 12 near the midway mark of the third quarter. When the Mystics trimmed the lead down to five later in the frame, physicality took over. Jazmine Jones drew a foul in the interior, allowing a stoppage in play and fresh legs on the court. The Liberty scored on that possession and kept their foot on the gas pedal from there on out. Kia Nurse and Jocelyn Willoughby reached the foul line a combined 17 times, sinking all but three of those attempts.

The head coach credited the fateful meeting for the surge and the players echoed those claims of positive impact.

“It was about having that hard moment and realizing you have to make the choice to have a better perspective in all of this and look at it as a moment of joy,” Friday’s top New York scorer Layshia Clarendon said of the meeting. “I’m a joyful player, silly, fun. I play really physical, but I love to have fun in practice, always have a smile on my face. I wasn’t playing like that. (The meeting) was a moment for me to remember that I need to get back to who I am, being myself. It’s when I play the most fun.”

“All the new players and coach Walt, they deserve it. We deserve it,” added Amanda Zahui B, she of a career-best 14 rebounds. “It feels good. I’m very proud of my teammates. We stepped up, all of us.”

Hopkins has routinely preached that wins and losses aren’t going to be 2020’s barometer in terms of New York growth. He certainly won’t be complaining when a few head his way, though.

The chance to start his first winning streak comes on Sunday afternoon against the Las Vegas Aces (5 p.m. ET, YES).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

New York Liberty add free agent Paris Kea to their roster

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With several key contributors out, the New York Liberty added the North Carolina alumna. She played 11 games with Indiana last year.

The New York Liberty have confirmed the signing of free agent guard Paris Kea to their roster.

Kea, 24, was a third-round pick out of North Carolina (25th overall) of the Indiana Fever in the 2019 WNBA Draft. In three seasons with the Tar Heels (after transferring from Vanderbilt), Kea averaged 18 points per game, the second-best tally in program history. Her final two seasons saw her earn back-to-back First-Team All-ACC honors and her total point tally of 1,637 is the seventh-best in Chapel Hill history over a three-year span. Additionally, she reached 30 points in seven games over her career, also good for second-best in the blue archives.

A native of Tarboro, NC, Kea was a two-sport athlete in high school, also playing soccer. She also partook in international endeavors in 2014, representing the United States in the FIBA America U18 Championship for Women. The USA took home the gold with a team that included Kea, A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, and Teaira McCowan.

Kea played 11 games with Indiana last season. Ironically, her best performance of the season came against the Liberty. In a June tilt at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Kea made her WNBA debut to the tune of 10 points (4-of-6 shooting) in a 92-77 Fever victory. She was released by Indiana in April.

New York had an open roster spot after several opt-outs and also sought depth after top overall pick Sabrina Ionescu went down with an ankle injury. Kia Nurse and Jazmine Jones have likewise missed time, albeit only one full game each, due to injury.

The Liberty (1-5) earned their first win of the season on Friday night, topping the defending champion Washington Mystics 74-66. They’ll look to start a streak on Sunday late afternoon against the Las Vegas Aces (5 p.m. ET, YES).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

New York Liberty earn first win of the season vs. defending WNBA champions (Highlights)

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Amanda Zahui B’s double-double helped the New York Liberty to earn their first win in the WNBA bubble, topping the defending champion Mystics.

New York Liberty head coach Walt Hopkins has repeatedly stated that growth in this unusual season won’t be measured by wins. Having said that, he’s certainly not turning down any visits to the victory column.

Veterans took over the New York cause on Friday night, as Amanda Zahui B’s matching double-double (14 points, career-best 14 rebounds) guided the Liberty to an upset victory in the Bradenton bubble. The Liberty went on to take down the defending champion Washington Mystics by a 74-66 final. Kia Nurse led Liberty scorers with 17 points while fellow veteran Layshia Clarendon put in 14 more.

It’s the first win of the season for the Liberty (1-5) and the first career win for the rookie head coach Hopkins.

“I’m glad my face stayed neutral. I remember when I was a kid, my dad told me, when you hit a home run act like you’ve been there before. I’m just proud of (the team). I wanted to close it out,” Hopkins said of the final seconds over a postgame Zoom call. “Our bench came in, took a big punch, didn’t surrender the lead.”

New York faced a tall task in their third full game without top overall pick Sabrina Ionescu. Washington (3-3) was missing several key contributors from last season’s championship squad (in addition to newly acquired Liberty legend Tina Charles, who opted out of the bubble proceedings) but still came in armed with the firepower of Myisha Hines-Allen, Ariel Atkins, and Aerial Powers, each of whom entered with averages of at least 15 points per game. Also in tow was defending WNBA Finals MVP Emma Meeseman (13.6 PPG).

But the Liberty took control early at the end of a sloppy first quarter. Leading 16-14 in the final minute, Megan Walker rebounded a Leilani Mitchell miss and threw it upcourt to a streaking Joyner Holes. The rookie free agent’s layup fell through with just under two seconds remaining, allowing the Liberty to carry an 18-14 lead into the next frame.

That score kicked off a 16-5 run that put the Liberty up 11 just past the midway point of the second. A Zahui B triple, the last of four on the evening, converted with five seconds left built a 40-31 halftime lead. The 31 Washington points were good for the Mystics lowest tally over a half thus far this season.

“I’m very proud of my teammates,” Zahui B said in her own Zoom call. “We stepped up, all of us.”

“I think Zahui’s one of our vocal leaders. We ask her to do a lot on the court and off the court,” Nurse said of her fellow veteran. “I think today she just found a way to get it done. Zahui’s a great basketball player. When she’s loud and she’s talking, she does some great things.”

Primarily fueled by efforts from Powers and Meeseman, the Mystics got as close as five points in the third quarter, but Zahui B’s buzzer-beater to close the stage permanently shifted momentum into the New York side. A season-best dozen three-pointers on the New York end (led by four from Clarendon and Zahui B) helped seal the deal, as did the Liberty’s constant visits to the foul line. Nurse and Jocelyn Willoughby united to sink 14-of-17 chances. Powers led Washington with 20, but it wasn’t enough to quell the victorious New York effort. 

Friday marked the Liberty’s first win over the Mystics since August 2017. The two will square off on September 12, the last day of the regular season.

The Liberty return to action on Sunday late afternoon, as they’ll take on Las Vegas Aces (5 p.m. ET, YES).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

 

Brutal fourth quarter befalls New York Liberty in fight against Phoenix

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Tough showings in the first and final frames doomed the New York Liberty on Sunday. It was their first full showdown sans Sabrina Ionescu.

The bookend quarters of a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Phoenix Mercury doomed the New York Liberty. In the first and final frames, Phoenix outpaced New York by a 59-23 margin in the Bradenton bubble in those timeframes. Those bursts over two separate 10-minute spans allowed them to coast to a 96-67 triumph.

Sunday marked the Liberty’s first full game without top overall pick Sabrina Ionescu, who was relegated to the bench two days after suffering a sprained ankle against Atlanta on Friday. Ionescu was certainly missed on the floor at crucial stages of the game.

Phoenix jumped out to an early lead, capping off the first quarter with a 25-12 lead. The Liberty were able to keep the deficit at a relatively stable 41-27 despite earning only eight conversions from the field and earning a majority of their points from the foul line. New York also failed to hit any of their 16 three-point attempts in the first half.

In the third, the undermanned Liberty (0-4) made things interesting by taking advantage of foul trouble from Brittney Griner and Sophie Cunningham by attacking the interior and whittling a 16-point Phoenix lead to as little as two. Late antics from Diana Taurasi pushed Phoenix’s lead back to seven at 62-55, but there was still a chance for a decent showing.

Alas for New York, the Mercury (2-2) instantly took advantage of Griner’s reinsertion. She opened the quarter with a pair of three-point plays, setting the pace for a quarter that Phoenix won by a 34-11 margin. Former Liberty starter Bria Hartley set a career-best in scoring for the second straight game with 27 points (10-of-18 FG) off the bench while Taurasi fell just short of a double-double (18 points, 9 rebounds).

The Liberty were paced by Kia Nurse with 17 points. They shot 24 percent from the field overall with only Kylee Shook (3-of-6) getting to at least a 50-percent conversation rate.

New York and Phoenix will meet for a rematch in September. The Liberty return to action on Wednesday night against the Minnesota Lynx (7 p.m. ET, CBSSN/Fox Sports Go).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

New York Liberty show fight sans Sabrina Ionescu, Kia Nurse (Highlights)

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sabrina ionescu, New York Liberty

The New York Liberty were missing two of their star attractions on Friday night, but still took the Atlanta Dream to the brink.

The New York Liberty lost two of their star attractions to injury on Friday night, but still managed to give the Atlanta Dream all they could handle.

Rookie Jazmine Jones led the Liberty with 20 points off the bench after fellow first-year and top overall pick Sabrina Ionescu was lost to an ankle injury in Friday’s tilt against the Atlanta Dream in the bubble at IMG Academy. Atlanta eventually prevailed by an 84-78 final, but the Liberty’s valiant effort without Ionescu and Kia Nurse was encouraging after a one-sided defeat to Dallas on Wednesday.

“We battled most of the game,” head coach Walt Hopkins said in a postgame Zoom conference. “The way that we fought pretty much across the board with our team was impressive and exciting. We responded to the things that we talked about and the things that we worked on. It was good.”

Ionescu, coming off a 33-point showing, rolled her ankle in transition midway through the second quarter. She was helped off the court by a trainer and teammate Leaonna Odom and was and did not return to the game. Hopkins said that Ionescu was likely taken to a local hospital for x-rays, which revealed no fracture and came back negative according to Shams Charania of ESPN. She had 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting prior to her forced departure.

Nurse missed the first game of her three-year WNBA career, suffering an ankle sprain of her own in the Liberty’s opening game last weekend.

Friday presented a roller-coaster affair for the Liberty (0-3) who found themselves trailing 12-0 at the midway stage of the opening frame. The scoring efforts of Ionescu and Kylee Shook allowed the Liberty to trim the lead to 22-16 and even took the lead early on in the second thanks to the efforts of an all-rookie lineup. When Ionescu went down, Jones and Layshia Clarendon, a rare New York veteran, helped keep the Liberty in the game.

The rookie Jones, chosen with the final pick of the first round out of Louisville, added two blocks and two steals to her infantile career-best in scoring.

“We have a mindset, all the rookies especially, that when we get in the game, just run up and down the court, be relentless, be tough,” Jones said. “We’re very talented from top to bottom. In our heads, we feel like we have the better bench per say, because we have a lot of rookies that can play multiple positions. It’s just fun that we have this kind of team, that the coaches can put us in different kind of alignments to be successful.”

Atlanta (2-1) threatened to pull away again in the third quarter, again going on an early run and holding the Liberty scoreless for over the first five minutes. Their lead summited at 14 points, but the Liberty once again made things close. New York whittled the lead all the way down to three in the penultimate minute of the game, but the Dream was able to finally hold them off. Rutgers alumna Betnijah Laney tallied a career-best 30 points while Elizabeth Williams had a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds). April’s fourth overall pick Chennedy Carter fouled out but tallied 17 points.

Clarendon reached double-figures for the third straight game with 16 points, while rookie Layshia Clarendon earned 14 in defeat.

The Liberty and Dream will square off again on September 3.

New York will wrap up a stretch of three games in five days on Sunday afternoon when they battle the Phoenix Mercury (1 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

New York Liberty: Sabrina Ionescu nets 33 in loss to Dallas (Highlights)

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A WNBA-record 10 rookies partook in Wednesday night’s showdown between the New York Liberty and Dallas Wings.

A return to form for Sabrina Ionescu wasn’t enough for the New York Liberty to get back in the win column.

The top pick in April’s draft was part of a performance that featured the contributions of ten rookies, the most to partake in a single WNBA game. Ionescu led the way with 33 points but five Dallas Wings reached double-figures en route to a 93-80 victory in the WNBA’s IMG Academy bubble in Bradenton, Florida.

“I thought Dallas was the tougher team. I thought they wanted it more. I think our players will tell you the same thing,” head coach Walt Hopkins said in a postgame Zoom call. “These are growth points. This is a young group and we’re all looking how to put together 40 minutes of consistency. As you can see, Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’s one of these losses that you learn from.”

While Ionescu had her moments in her professional debut on Saturday against Seattle (12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), some negative reviews focused on a tough shooting performance (4-of-17 FG, 0-for-8 from three-point range). Ionescu was a silver lining for New York on a tough off night, sinking 11-of-20 shot attempts, including 6-of-10 from deep. Her 33 points are one short of the Liberty’s rookie record set by a current teammate, Kia Nurse, in 2018. Ionescu also put in seven assists and rebounds each.

The improved personal marks were of no consolation to Ionescu.

“Coming in, it’s going to be a process. Piece-by-piece, we’ve just got to keep building every single game, every single day in practice,” she said. “Obviously, I’m not happy because we didn’t win, so that part still isn’t up to my standard, our standard as a team and an organization. We’re still getting used to each other as a brand new team with a lot of new faces, so it’s just going to take us some growing pains. My teammates know it took us some growing pains at Oregon as well. It’s going to take time, but hopefully, we just keep building and getting to know each other.”

The Liberty (0-2) jumped out to a small, but early, lead in the first quarter. But the frame ended with a buzzer-beating triple from Kayla Thornton, one that gave Dallas a permanent lead. The Wings (1-1) pulled away with a 34-21 advantage in the second quarter, creating a 58-43 lead at the half despite 11 points over the final 90 seconds from Ionescu. Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas scorers with 20 points.

Both the Liberty and Wings are the youngest teams in the WNBA, with Dallas holding the title by mere decimal digits. The teams held nine of the most recent draft’s first 15 picks in April, and the Liberty added former Seattle draftee Joyner Holmes (7 points, 4 rebounds) after several veterans opted out of the 2020 season. Second overall pick and Ionescu’s fellow Oregon alumna Satou Sabally was among those who reached double-figures for Dallas (12 points). On the New York side, Megan Walker and Jazmine Jones each made their WNBA debuts. The pair were respectively chosen in the ninth and twelfth slots of the draft and missed the Saturday opener due to illness and injury.

“It’s awesome to be able to see all the rookies in this league especially playing against them in college and now being able to see them at the next level. Hopefully, we can continue to be able to grow this league and keep having more and more viewership and learning through the veterans that played here before us,” Ionescu said. “I think it was awesome to see all the young faces out on the floor. It was awesome to see Satou on the floor, definitely really weird not having her on my team. I definitely miss playing with her. She did great, I think. She stayed composed, she made the right plays, she’s going to fit into that team really well. I was really excited to see her, to play against her, to kind of talk some smack to her at the free throw line.”

Layshia Clarendon (partaking in the 200th WNBA game of her career) was the only other New Yorker to earn double-figures in scoring (11 points) while Amanda Zahui B led all participants with 11 rebounds. The Liberty and Wings will meet for a grudge match in Bradenton on August 27.

New York will return to action quickly, battling the Atlanta Dream on Friday night (7 p.m. ET, NBA TV).

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

New York Liberty: Kia Nurse comments on injury, new efforts in 2020

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Kia Nurse left the New York Liberty’s opening loss early on Saturday but has been enthused by the efforts both on and off the court.

Kia Nurse may be back on duty sooner than expected.

The New York Liberty’s returning All-Star and third-year point guard left the team’s opening tilt against the Seattle Storm on Saturday with an ankle sprain but was in good spirits when meeting with the media over Zoom on Monday afternoon.

“Ankles recover when they want to recover, so we’ll see when this one does,” Nurse said. ”

Head coach Walt Hopkins officially labeled Nurse as a “day-by-day” case as the Liberty prepare to take on the Dallas Wings on Wednesday night in the WNBA’s Bradenton bubble (8 p.m. ET, CBSSN). Rookie Leaonna Odom started the second half in her place. The Liberty fell 87-71 sans Nurse to the 2018 WNBA champions that welcomed back former MVPs Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird. Rookie Leaonna Odom stepped in for Nurse in the second half and scored 9 points on 4-of-6 shooting.

Nurse played 10 minutes in the Liberty’s opening day loss before her departure. She is one of two veteran returnees to the Liberty’s 2020 roster (the other being Amanda Zahui B) and is coming off an All-Star season that saw her put up 13.7 points per game (seventh amongst Eastern Conference scorers). As a young leader…only Zahui B and free agent newcomer Layshia Clarendon have more experience…the 2018 first-round draft pick has a special role in New York’s structure, a role she has described as being a “baby vet”.

She was pleased with the valiant effort the Liberty put up against Seattle, keeping things at a single-digit deficit before the Storm pulled away over the final 10 minutes.

“I was really proud of our team going up and playing fearlessly,” Nurse said. “We obviously have a lot of new faces to the league and I think they went out there and they did what they do best. They fought and they fought hard and I think we played a pretty decent game in terms of only being together for only the two weeks that we were. I was really proud of them for that and to see the young people step up.”

Nurse is a New Yorker of many talents. Her All-Star trip to Las Vegas last season saw her compete in the league’s three-point shootout, for example. She’s using those talents to make a difference off the court in these revolutionary times.

With the league dedicating its 2020 to social justice causes, Nurse is doing her part to amplify her message. She’s looking to make a difference not only in the United States, but in her native Canada as well.

“For me, it’s really understanding that (racism) might look different in another country,” Nurse said. “In Canada, it might be more microaggressions, more polite, not as blatantly in your face or on video, but it all still exists. This is all something that still happens in my country. I’m thinking along the same lines of really understanding the background behind all these stories and obviously the indigenous people in Canada as well, the aboriginal and what has happened with our history there, really focusing on amplifying our voices and learning from the past.”

Nurse expressed hope that Canadian audiences who tuned into the nationally televised game on TSN were inspired by the WNBA’s opening day tributes to Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American victim of police brutality. Players from each of the WNBA’s dozen squads wore Taylor’s name on the back of their jerseys and observed a 26-second moment of silence prior to tip-off. Members of the Liberty also partook in a video calling for the arrest of Taylor’s murderers. Nurse said it was “an extremely tough” video to film, but it was something the team “really wanted to put forward”.

Should Nurse miss Wednesday’s showdown with the Wings, it’ll be a Bradenton-based battle of the WNBA’s youngest teams. New York and Dallas’ respective rosters feature ten rookies between them, including Megan Walker on the Liberty side. Nurse’s fellow University of Connecticut alumna entered the bubble with a pair of negative COVID-19 tests. She was chosen ninth overall in April’s draft, eight slots after the Liberty took Sabrina Ionescu with the top choice. Walker partook in Monday’s practice, though, like Nurse’s return, Hopkins was reluctant to put a timetable on Walker making her debut.

“She didn’t look out of sorts, she didn’t look lost,” Hopkins said. “She looked good. Her energy was good…She looked pretty sharp all things considered.”

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags