Nyara Sabally's 'Explosive' Debut Part of Liberty Victory

Saturday featured not only a win for the New York Liberty but a fateful landmark for rookie Nyara Sabally.

NEW YORK-Recent events have more or less ensured that New York City's endless legions of basketball fans will make the trip to take in the hardwood antics of a Pacific Northwest superstar who got her start amongst the "Fighting Ducks" at the University of Oregon.

Yes, Nyara Sabally certainly looks like she's here to stay alongside Sabrina Ionescu as the New York Liberty press forward in a new era.

Granted, it's a very small Sabally sample size: the fifth overall pick of the 2022 WNBA Draft made her professional debut on Saturday, playing 14 minutes and scoring six points and pulling in three rebounds in New York's 81-65 victory over the Connecticut Sun at Barclays Center. Sabally took to a WNBA surface for the first time since a knee injury, the aftershocks of two ACL tears at Oregon, wiped out her whole would-be rookie season (she also missed the opening two games of this campaign) but the early feedback is trending upward.

"She's really quick, she's very explosive, she has good poise, too," Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said. "I think she gave us really key minutes there ... She stayed in plays and with Tiffany Hayes. She hasn't played a lot of basketball and so we're really excited how we can keep developing her."

The Liberty's veteran newcomers (i.e. Kayla Thornton, Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot) stole the headlines of Saturday's win but Sabally made her mark in her own way, conducting herself well among the newly installed championship veterans of New York and the familiar contenders of Connecticut. 

Sabally's trademark grit and physicality, well-known to west coast viewers, took residence in a new locale, prevalent in a Liberty effort that allowed no more than 15 points in any of the final three quarters. She was one of two New York reserves to have a plus/minus of black double-digits, finishing the afternoon at plus-11 (Thornton was the other at plus-19).

A strong performance against the Sun was another sign of Sabally's youthful maturity, as she used lessons learned in a preseason visit to Mohegan Sun Arena to prepare for a contest that counted. 

"I feel like this game was a little easier than my first preseason game against them. I feel like it was a little cheat that I already played them in the preseason," Sabally said with a smile after the game. "I remembered how physical they were, so this time it was a little easier around them. Obviously, they're amazing players, so it's always hard to go up against them."

An early sign of the Liberty's growing trust in Sabally came in the latter stages of the first half: as New York continued to eat into an early, consistent Connecticut lead that reached as high as eight, the rookie was granted re-entry as part of a defensive effort that limited the Sun to only 12 points in the paint over the first 20 minutes. 

One could argue that Jonquel Jones' foul trouble perhaps played a role in Sabally's early introduction ... especially as Brondello hinted at an unclear minutes restriction as she works her way back ... but she nonetheless took pride in making sure that the faith was rewarded, no matter the source. 

"It feels great (to have that trust). I've gotten a lot of good feedback from (my teammates) during the whole training camp and going into this game," Sabally said. "So it feels great knowing that they believe in me and it makes you feel a little better. If they have that type of trust in you, your confidence definitely goes up."

Sabally and the Liberty will return to action on Tuesday night, when she's granted a return to the Pacific Northwest to face the Seattle Storm (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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