Liberty Approach Major Milestone, Challenge

The New York Liberty have a prime opportunity awaiting.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

There's no place like home and the New York Liberty are looking to prove that this postseason.

A major milestone potentially awaits the Liberty on Sunday afternoon, as they welcome in the Minnesota Lynx to Barclays Center (3 p.m. ET, WWOR): with a win, New York (31-6) will not only tie the franchise record for wins set last season but it will also dictate the WNBA playoff bracket by clinching homecourt advantage throughout the upcoming postseason.

New York won 32 games last season but finished two games behind the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces for the lead league. When the two sides faced off in the Finals, the Aces built a 2-0 series lead in best-of-five set before a single ball was bounced on Brooklyn hardwood.

The hands of time have sometimes obstructed the Liberty's championship view this season: the All-Star//Olympic break interrupted a four-game winning streak. The immediate aftermath packed eight games into 16 days.

This time, though, the timing couldn't be better: not only can the Liberty clinchthe top seed in front of their long-loyal hometown fans but they can do so against the Lynx, the only team left pursuing them.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

"They've beaten us and it's going to be a statement game," Sabrina Ionescu declared. "Understanding that it's the two top teams playing each other, we have to come out and play our best basketball and do that for 40 minutes. That could be a potential matchup we see down the line and we got to we got to make sure that we put our best foot forward and play our best basketball."

Minnesota (28-9) is still alive for the top seed due to the fact that it's still eligible for a head-to-head tiebreaker, having dealt the Liberty its worst loss of the season (84-67) back on May 25 at Target Center. Though it doesn't count toward the regular season standings, the Lynx also carry a win in the Commissioner's Cup final staged at UBS Arena in June, making them the only team to prevail against the Liberty twice this season. New York won a 76-67 decision in Brooklyn on July 2, primarily lifted by an 18-8 advantage in the final period.

Semblances of the elite Liberty basketball that New York has sought to play has surfaced in recent stages despite some struggles. Since the last meeting, for example, Kennedy Burke has taken on a bigger starring role in the second unit, as she currently ranks second in defensive rating among women with a minimum of 10 games/minutes per game played since July 3. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Courtney Vandersloot have overcome their respective absences while the Liberty's "Big 3" have handled business on the scoreboard.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

Despite their postseason assurance, the Liberty have continued to treat their ongoing sagas like a playoff series, recently going through such an experience with a back-to-back in North Texas. New York handily handled business with consecutive victories, entering the Lynx's visit packed to the brim with momentum.

That looms particularly large for the Liberty: should they secure that valued No. 1 seed, they'll face the winner of a three-team crapshoot for the eighth and final playoff spot, as Washington, Chicago, and Atlanta have more or less been playing playoff basketball for a month.

"Each game is preparing us for the playoffs. We can't take anything lightly," Laney-Hamilton noted after the latter win over Dallas. "Every game that we step into from here on out is like a playoff game because anybody that we could play could be somebody that we potentially play in the playoffs. We have to prepare as such.

"I think it'll just be about continuing to do the things that we've been doing over the past couple of games, Moving the ball, our pace has been really well, we've been active on defense. I think that, if we're showing up as our best selves, we'll be able to take care of business on Sunday."

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