UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Sandy Brondello tried to avoid mentioning it. Even thinking about it. She had allowed her mind to wander that first day this edition of the Liberty was together, with the talk of championships and titles and everything the superteam could accomplish, but then Brondello shifted those thoughts to the back of her mind.
Their season, ideally, was always about what could unfold the second and third weeks of October, but the Liberty couldn’t just “snap your fingers,” Brondello said.
They needed everything to blend together, and after their 87-84 victory clinched their semifinal series against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday, the Liberty inched one step closer to their first-ever title and NYC’s first basketball title in 50 years.
It wasn’t the most obvious win, not like Friday when the Liberty scored 37 points in the first quarter and were never threatened.
On Sunday, it was a one-point game in the final seconds, when Tyasha Harris’ 3-pointer bounced off the front rim and in.
But Breanna Stewart, who scored 27 points, knocked down two free throws with six seconds left and Tiffany Hayes couldn’t get a game-tying shot off in the final moments, and that secured everything.
So of all the scenarios the Liberty could’ve scripted to secure their first WNBA finals berth since 2002, what unfolded Sunday would’ve been near the bottom of the list.
Betnijah Laney wasn’t the headliner of the superteam.
Her role had been changed to the point where she wasn’t even a primary scoring option offensively.
But there she was on Sunday, leading the Liberty with 15 points at halftime to give them the lead.
There she was, hitting the 3-pointer that put the Liberty up eight in the third quarter.
Then, when the Sun trailed by six in the fourth quarter, any glimmer of hope Connecticut had left seemed lost when Alyssa Thomas got tangled up with Jonquel Jones underneath the basket, remained on the ground in pain and exited just 40 seconds into the quarter.
Then, the Sun made a comeback and took the lead without their star, who eventually returned midway through the frame.
There was a reason they had made five consecutive semifinals, and the fourth quarter reflected that.
The Liberty trailed by four after the first quarter and then led by one at halftime, taking the lead on a last-second shot by Sabrina Ionescu (nine points, seven assists, five rebounds) after Jones blocked a shot. Stewart finished with 27 points, while Jones recorded another double-double with 25 points and 15 rebounds.
And then, after the final buzzer sounded, the celebration began at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Plenty has changed since the Liberty’s last WNBA Finals appearance in 2002.
At that point, just six seasons into their existence, these postseason berths were normal.
They had made four Finals appearances by that point.
There was the thought that, one of the years and one of these runs, one would actually end with the team reaching the sport’s peak.
The pieces would actually align. The Liberty, inevitably, would win a title.
But then they went into an area of darkness — of just three playoff berths in eight seasons, a rare stretch of not being relevant at the top of the standings.
Then, the superteam started to form. Drafting Ionescu No. 1 overall in 2020 was the first step.
Trading for Jones, signing Stewart and signing Courtney Vandersloot were the final pieces.
So now, for the second and third weeks in October, the Liberty will be exactly where they always imagined. The WNBA finals will make a stop at Barclays Center.