Shorthanded Liberty Clip Wings in Return to Brooklyn

The New York Liberty took down the Dallas Wings in their first home game in over a month.

Aug 15, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) celebrates in the first half against the LA Sparks Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

BROOKLYN-Not everyone could make it to Sandy Brondello's birthday party but the New York Liberty nonetheless pitched in to deliver their head coach quite the gift.

Despite adding Leonie Fiebich to an injury report that already kept Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton out, the Liberty survived well enough to pick up their WNBA-best seventh consecutive win with a 94-74 triumph over the Dallas Wings on Tuesday night at Barclays Center. It was the Liberty's first game in Brooklyn since the WNBA's All-Star/Olympic hiatus.

Three different New Yorkers earned double-doubles in the win: Breanna Stewart (26 points) and Jonquel Jones (23) each secured 12 rebounds while Courtney Vandersloot scored a season-high 15 points and dished out 11 assists. It was the second time in Liberty history that three different players had double-doubles in a single game (the first coming in July 2023) and just the 24th time in WNBA history.

On a day where the Seattle Storm upgraded their depth by adding French Olympic heroine Gabby Williams, the Liberty (24-4) showcased their depth on a night where Ionescu (neck) was a late scratch and Fiebich (rib) was forced to leave early. In addition to the double-figure dominance from the starters, Kennedy Burke came off the bench to score 13 points in relief.

Facing a North Texas group energized by the return of Satou Sabally (sister of Liberty resere Nyara), the Liberty struggled to pull away in the early going: with Ionescu missing, Vandersloot had a direct role in 10 of the first 14 Liberty points, which helped build a 15-point lead in the early stages of the second period.

Dallas, however, enjoyed some delayed efforts from All-Star Game MVP Arike Ogunbowale, whose trio of triples opened the lanes and narrowed the gap to five by the midway mark of the second. The metropolitan advantage was back up to nine by halftime, as Vandersloot's assist to a streaking Burke was an energizing buzzer-beater.

From there, New York embarked on a relative roll, scoring eight of the first 10 points in the second half. One more Dallas run, a 14-3 tally at the end of the third and at the onset of the fourth, shrank things to four but the Liberty finally clipped the Wings with 14 tallies in a row, capped off by Vandersloot's 10th assist of the night, this one on Sabally's driving layup.

Dallas (6-21) is five games behind Chicago for the eighth and final spot on the WNBA playoff bracket. Satou Sabally led Dallas with 24 points while former New Yorker Natasha Howard was one rebound short of a double while riding the early surge to 13 points.

The Liberty and Wings won't have to wait long for a rematch, as Dallas is due back on Atlantic Avenue on Thursday night (7 p.m. ET, WWOR).

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