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tRY IT NOWThe shorthanded Liberty, led by Isabelle Harrison’s impressive return from an 18-day absence, beat the Mystics 89-63 Thursday to improve to 24-15.
Sandy Brondello started Thursday’s pregame press conference in an all too familiar way.
She had a lengthy list of injury updates to share.
Starters Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones were late scratches.
Ionescu suffered a left toe injury in the last play of Wednesday’s practice, and Jones woke up sick Thursday morning.
The Liberty, who were already without Natasha Cloud (broken nose) and Nyara Sabally (right knee), would once again be limited to only an eight-player rotation.
It’s become all too familiar of a situation for the Liberty, who’s had only one person — Marine Johannes — play all 39 games this season.
“It is what it is,” forward Leonie Fiebich said. “Not in our control. I just hope they get healthy as soon as possible. But as Sandy always says, we have enough. It will give some opportunity to players who usually don’t play that much so I’m excited for them and I’m excited for this game because we really can show who we are.”
With the Liberty undermanned yet again, they needed a full-team, complete-game effort — and that’s exactly what they got.
Despite being down two primary ballhandlers, the Liberty did a good job not only moving the ball but limiting the turnovers to only eight.
The Liberty’s bench also provided a major boost, scoring 35 points.
Harrison, who missed the past seven games because of a concussion, played a key part in Thursday’s win.
She scored a season-high 16 points and drained two 3s.
She also contributed five rebounds and two assists.
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Emma Meesseman added 15 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Johannes had 14 points and five assists.
Stephanie Talbot also played one of her best games in a New York uniform, finishing with 11 points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Liberty head out on the road this weekend for a three-game West Coast swing, with their first stop in Phoenix on Saturday.