Liberty's Second Unit Supplements Comeback

Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart rightfully stole headlines but the New York Liberty's reserves had a role to play in the epic WNBA Finals comeback.

Geoff Magliocchetti | 3 Hours Ago

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

The New York Liberty's depth stars have turned the bearers of seafom into a fully armed and operational battle station.

Metropolitan depth was prominently displayed in Game 3 of the 2024 WNBA Finals on Wednesday. While the antics of the "big three" consisting of Sabrina Ionescu, Jonquel Jones, and Breanna Stewart rightfully stole the show, the second unit helped New York inch back from a 15-point deficit and earn an 80-77 victory over the Minnesota Lynx.

"Not often do I sit (Ionescu and Stewart) at the same time, very rarely. But I felt like we needed to at that moment, and I think they gave us really good energy," head coach Sandy Brondello said of the second unit. "We got it back to ten after that first quarter, and I think that was the thing. We've got to keep grinding, keep grinding, and as the game went on, we got back to playing Liberty basketball."

With Wednesday's win at Target Center, New York is but one more triumph away from its first postseason championship, owning a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series with Game 4 looming on

Oct 13, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty guard Courtney Vandersloot (22) during game two of the 2024 NBA Finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Energized by a raucous home crowd, a resurgent Kayla McBride, and expected two-way antics from Napheea Collier, Minnesota leaped out to an early lead that reached as high as 15. Two fouls for Stewart and a chilly start for Ionescu forced Brondello to seek a tonal shift through a shortened bench that wound up playing only three women in relief.

Those originally seated ensured helped keep the deficit manageable: the Lynx's lead reached its summit at the penultimate minute of the opening period but five quick points from Vandersloot (drawing foul shots from Alanna Smith and later hitting a three) helped narrow the gap to a manageable 10 by the first break.

Minnesota's own subs, such as Myisha Hines-Allen and Cecilia Zandalasini, helped temporarily sustain the sizable advantage but Vandersloot, whose first triple was set up by a Nyara Sabally offensive rebound, united with her fellow Kelly Graves apprentice to partake in each of New York's first seven points in the second period.

Things evened out on the defensive end from there on out, as the Liberty won the quarter 17-15. Sabally and Vandersloot keeping pace in the early going, however, continue to help the Liberty linger within striking distance. New York perhaps unofficially announced its intentions at a comeback with a Ionescu floater that sliced the Lynx lead to eight.

Oct 16, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman (2) works around New York Liberty forward Nyara Sabally (8) during the first half of game three of the 2024 WNBA Finals at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The efforts of the bench have been somewhat buried by the headliners' antics, namely Ionescu's timely triple with a second remaining on Target Center's clock. But, unlike their diamond counterparts in The Bronx and Queens, the Liberty bullpen left a positive impact on things: each of the trio had a positive plus/minus in their final box score, with defensive stalwart Kayla Thornton leading the way at plus-12.

Entering the series, the basketball world likely knew what it was getting out of Thornton and Vandersloot, but one of the most pleasant surprises of the Finals to date has been the emergence of Sabally, who has often alternated between fringe presence and DNP-CD in the latter stages of the postseason. The second-year woman and 2022 draftee has been a plus-14 in 20 minutes over the last two victorious games in the Finals.

Brondello lauded the change of pace Sabally brought when Stewart was forced into early foul trouble.

"I was really, really happy with Nyara," Brondello said of Sabally, whose recurring injuries have eaten away at the early stages of her career. "She played so hard. She was winded by the end of those seven minutes. We played her seven minutes in a row but she was so effective ... What Nyara brings is she's always on her front foot getting downhill. She's always going to run the floor, just a hundred miles an hour, which is what we needed."

The Liberty's reserve will no doubt be called upon to reprise their heroic roles on Friday night when they have a chance to clinch the title in Minneapolis (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

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Published 3 Hours Ago

GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI

Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks