Brooklyn, NY—After beating down the Atlanta Dream 106-83 Friday night, the Liberty are feeling pretty good about their chances with the Dallas Wings on Sunday Afternoon.
The Liberty looked a little lethargic in the transition play. They managed to slow down Arike Ogunbowale in the second half and that was difference in the game. Breanna Stewart, who poured in 32 points to down the Dallas Wings 102-93 at the Barclays Center in Sunday afternoon in front of the announced attendance of 7,615.
Sabrina Ionescu chipped in 22 to aid in the victory over the Wings (5-4).
The Libs finished on 55.7% (39-70) shooting from hardwood, 46.4% (13-28) from downtown, and 78.6% (11-14) at the charity stripe.
The Liberty had a difficult time defending the perimeter in the first half, Ogunbowale made them pay dearly scoring 13 points going into half and going up 6 at the break (51-45). Ogunbowale finished the game with 25 points.
“Obviously as this group has come together, we’re having an awareness of where one another is, the spots and how the defense is gonna play us, in particular me,” Breanna Stewart said in the presser. “People are helping me get into the right positions.”
The Liberty made some adjustments at halftime and dominated the third quarter behind Stewart. NY scored 34 points in the period, including 13 by Stewart. The contest was knotted at 60 halfway through the frame before New York scored 19 of the next 24 points. Stewart, who made 15 of her 20 field-goal attempts, had six points and two assists during the run.
New York (6-2) was up 79-68 heading into the final frame of the contest. Dallas got within single digits halfway through the period, but Stewart hit a left shoulder jumper on the right baseline and then Ionescu hit a deep 3-pointer from the wing to make it 93-79 with 4:03 left and never looked back.
Satou Sabally added 17 points and 11 boards for the Wings.
Maddy Siegrist’s family and friends weren’t going to miss the Hudson Valley native’s return to her home state. They made sure the came and showed out.
Siegrist’s mother, Ginna, led the frenzy to buy 400 tickets across two sections near the Dallas Wings’ bench, and they showed up in droves. From their hometown of Poughkeepsie, NY. There was a sea of Siegrist t-shirts, neon-yellow thundersticks, and a big cutout of the former Villanova star’s head just for the cameras.
UP NEXT:
The Liberty will be home Tuesday to play the Atlanta Dream for a 7:00 P.M. start time.
