By: Reagan McLean
As the longest season in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) history comes to a close, the playoffs have arrived with the New York Liberty as the defending champions. The playoff ranking this year is based on the top eight teams with the best records this season. The top seed is the Minnesota Lynx, and the last team is new, the Golden State Valkaryies. With Liberty being the 2024 WNBA champions, and as a fifth seed, the team needs to prove that not only can they win a back-to-back championship, but also overcome the challenges and inconsistencies during the regular season.
At the beginning of the season, Liberty were 9-0, showcasing their dominance early before ending the regular season second in the Eastern Conference. They also led in the most three-pointers made per game with 10. One three-pointer made.
The team averaged 22.8 assists per game, trailing the Minnesota Lynx, and averaged 85.6 points per game, making them the third in points at this time. Once the mid-season approached, the Liberty hit a slump. The record was 12-11 because key players Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu were injured, which contributed to the loss of consistency and momentum.
The nickname “superteam” originated from the acquisition of Stewart (a three-time WNBA champion), Jones (2021 MVP, WNBA champion, and finals MVP), and Courtney Vandersloot from the Chicago Skys, who is a two-time WNBA champion and one of the league’s top point guards and assist leaders. In 2023, they joined a strong team that included All-Star Ionescu and Benijah-Laney Hamilton, and made a run to the finals. In 2024, they won their first-ever championship.
For the 2025 season, significant changes were made to the Liberty roster. Vandersloot returned to the Chicago Sky in free agency, and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was sidelined this season due to a knee injury. However, Liberty made key acquisitions with All-Star guard Natasha Cloud and veteran Rebekah Gardner, who returned from injury. The Liberty also added Isabelle Harrison, who provides additional frontcourt depth behind Jones and Stewart. Emma Messeman, who returned to the WNBA after playing overseas, was acquired and became a crucial x-factor. Now, with a fully healthy team (outside of Laney-Hamilton), the fan favorite Marine Johannès returning, and all the necessary pieces acquired, can the talent be executed when it matters most?
On Sept. 14, after a back-and-forth game, the New York Liberty defeated the Phoenix Mercury in overtime, 76-69, to take a 1-0 series lead. The Mercury, led by All-Star guards Kahleah Copper and Alyssa Thomas, put up a tough battle; however, they struggled with their shooting all night, finishing with 33% shooting from the field and 23% from the three-point range. Even though the win was hard-fought, the Liberty had an unusually high number of turnovers.
They had a total of 20 turnovers in the game, which is strange since, on average, the Liberty have 14.9 turnovers per game. In the second half of the game, 14 of those turnovers were accumulated. There was some sloppiness, but the team’s stars found other ways to impact the game. Ionescu’s all-around game with 16 points, six rebounds, and seven assists helped with orchestrating the offense. Jones was dominant in the paint and on the board, securing a game-high of 12 rebounds. Thus, going along with seven points and three blocks in the paint. This forced Mercury players to drive into the paint instead of shooting long-range shots. The game wasn’t perfect; however, this is a testament to their grit and drive for a repeat.
In the fourth quarter, former Mercury player Cloud made back-to-back layups, which gave the Liberty a two-point lead with 4:17 left in regulation. Cloud finished the game as the leading scorer for Liberty with 23 points. Her teammate, Ionescu, praised her performance, saying, “She was everything for us tonight…Her ability to get downhill, pass, her ability to hit big shots… she’s someone that anchors us, so really proud of her effort”.
Stewart made a crucial basket in the lane with a few seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. This tied the game to 65-65 and forced overtime. This play prevented an early Mercury win. Once overtime came, things started to turn up a notch. To open up overtime, Cloud made a three-pointer. This momentum continued an 8-0 run, which gave the Liberty a 73-65 lead with under two minutes remaining.
Midway through overtime, Stewart injured her left knee after making a layup. At the press conference, Coach Sandy Brondello did not make an update about Stewie’s injury, but stated, “She asked me to sub her out there, and she looked uncomfortable, so that was the reason we took her out there. And then we’re just…you know, we’ll just be hoping that she’ll be okay.”
Coach Brondello continued, stating, “She’s tough, I think one of her superpowers is her toughness, so if she’s able to go, she’ll go.” Stewart
After the lead was cut to four by Phoenix, Leonie Fiebich made a critical three-pointer, which extended the lead and sealed the win for Liberty. Fiebich finished the game with 10 points.
In a best-of-3 series, it is important to win the first game. Especially, in Liberty’s case, being the lower seed and having to start on the road. By winning Game one, it isn’t guaranteed that you will win the series; however, the chance of winning is improved. The Liberty had just one more game at Barclays Center on Sept. 17. By winning this game, they advance to the semifinals. The first win was imperfect, but with clutch shots from Cloud and strong performances by Ionescu and Jones, it showed that when the Liberty isn’t playing at its best level, it still has all the pieces needed to win when it matters most on Sept 17. Phoenix fought back and had a blowout lead of 86-60, which led the series 1-1 at the Barclays Center. Stewart had a sprained MCL; however, she still played. Her presence on the court was an emotional lift, but she had physical limitations and was ineffective on the court.
Phoenix had a shooting problem in Game one, but found its rhythm in Game two. Satou Sabally, their major catalyst, finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and four steals, with 5-for-11 shooting from the field. Her performance helped set the tone offensively and helped the Mercury get their offense back on track. Thomas also scored 15 points, seven assists, and six rebounds. With Thomas distributing the ball and her presence in the paint, she disrupted Liberty’s defense and created scoring opportunities for Mercury. Kahleah Copper, with 14 points, helped Sabally with setting the offensive threat, which helped Mercury establish their dominance early. With Mercury’s “big three” being an offensive threat and distributing the ball, this impacted the Liberty’s defense.
In Game one, Liberty had a stronger defensive front; however, in Game two, they lacked the physicality to keep Phoenix from dominating in the paint and scoring. As a team, the Mercury played more physically; thus, Liberty was slower in setting screens and getting into position. Therefore, Phoenix got easier shots. In Game one, the Liberty had 20 turnovers, which was unusual for them. However, in Game Two, they had 15 turnovers. Although the difference between Game One and Game Two is that Liberty won Game One, Phoenix was able to secure more easy transition points from live-ball turnovers. Lastly, in Game One, Jones’s defensive effort forced the Mercury to take harder shots. In this game, the Mercury was able to get into the paint and get cleaner shots from the three-point range.
Mercury most likely targeted Stewart on defense by running their offense through her side of the floor as a way to test her limited mobility due to her MCL sprain. With her inability to move quickly and contest shots as if she were 100% healthy, this was a defensive liability. With the Liberty’s star player not performing at her full potential, other players are overcompensating, thus causing a chain reaction of late rotations and players playing out of compensation, which creates open shots for the opponent. Furthermore, if Liberty wants a chance to punch a ticket to the semi-finals, they need to learn from the mistakes that they made in this game.
After a back-and-forth game three, Liberty’s dream of repeating a championship comes to a close with a 73-79 loss to the Phoenix Mercury at the PHX arena on Sept. 19. Stewart had a heroic performance of 30 points and orchestrated the offense in the fourth quarter. Ionescu was her leading assist, finishing with 22 points.
Once again, the big three on the Phoenix Mercury rose to the occasion when needed. Thomas recorded a historic 20-point triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists. Sabally led the team with 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Kahleah Copper and Sami Whitcomb provided clutch points when needed.
Therefore, the combined effort of the Phoenix starters and bench was much stronger, and with a combination of injuries, lineup changes, and little to no practice time, Liberty’s dream to repeat as the defending champions came to an end.