The New York Liberty won a thriller Monday night at home against the Dallas Wings. The win makes it the first time since May that the Liberty have won consecutive games. Coming off of their 20 point comeback against the Mystics, New York hosted the 9-10 Dallas Wings. Here are three observations from the rare Monday night WNBA game in New York.
True Team Play
The Liberty benefitted Monday from an incredible team performance offensively. Notably, the Liberty had five players reach double-digit scoring. On a night highlighted by Sami Whitcomb’s 26 points on 10-16 shooting, their were multiple scorers offensively. Much of the offense moved effectively from Sabrina Ionescu who finished with 12 assists while scoring 13 as well. Britney Latney had a nice night offensively as well scoring 18 points on 53 percent shooting. Jazmine Jones and Reshanda Gray were also among the New York Liberty double-digit scorers.
Sami Whitcomb’s Defense
Sami Whitcomb filled the stat sheet offensively with her game-high 26 point performance. However, Sami Whitcomb also set the tone defensively for the New York Liberty. Whitcomb finished the game with three steals in a difficult matchup against Arike Ogunbowale. Ogunbowale had a rare off night on Monday, only finishing with 12 points on 33 percent shooting. Liberty head coach Walt Hopkins noticed and praised Whitcomb saying;
“Sami’s combination of defense, passing getting us into stuff, she did everything,” he said. “She played great defense to boot. When Sami’s locked in like that, it helps everybody. From the outset she was really, really locked in.”
Sami Whitcomb certainly led the way for the Liberty and her play on both ends was crucial to Monday’s victory.
Sabrina Ionescu X-Factor
Sabrina Ionescu continued her elevated level of play Monday. Ionescu has shot over 50 percent in consecutive games for the Liberty. An interesting stat from that is that the Liberty are 5-0 when Sabrina Ionescu shoots above 50 percent on the game. On Monday, Sabrina shot efficiently at 55.6% but also distributed the ball well with 12 assists. This was the point guards first double-double performance since May 23rd. New York benefits from Ionescu’s elevated level of play, and it could be crucial in a Liberty playoff push. The point guard is averaging 6.3 assists per game which is third among all WNBA players. Will she maintain this level of efficiency? We know if she does that it will likely result in more success for the New York Liberty.
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