Latest news with #SandyBrondello
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
WNBA power rankings: Liberty, Lynx finally take center stage in first Finals rematch of the season
Wonky scheduling? Check. Injured superstar? Yup. A heavyweight battle tilted on its head? Right again. A trifecta of this season's overarching trends takes center stage when the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty meet in their first Finals rematch this week. The game in Minneapolis (Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN) is the first of four matchups within the next three weeks. It will likely be played without 2023 MVP Breanna Stewart after she injured her leg in a loss to Los Angeles on Saturday. Head coach Sandy Brondello said there is no timetable for her return. Lynx forward Alanna Smith could also miss the contest. That puts a damper on the long-anticipated clash of teams that return the majority of their rosters from a 2024 Finals series that went a full five games and featured an immediately iconic quote by Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve. 'This s*** was stolen from us,' she said in the interview room following a Game 5 overtime loss. The Liberty, meanwhile, sprayed champagne and snapped photos in the locker room, reveling in redemption from a Game 1 overtime meltdown. In the months since, the Liberty front office tinkered toward a legacy while the Lynx relied on repeating the strong chemistry that led them to the brink of a record fifth WNBA title. The sides remain on a collision course for a Finals rematch, but now their first regular-season meeting — and possibly those to come — loses a layer of luster. The Lynx play three straight against the Liberty beginning in New York on Aug. 10 (12:30 p.m. ET, ABC), in Minnesota on Aug. 16 (2 p.m. ET, CBS) and back in New York on Aug. 19 (7 p.m., NBA TV). They can treat it as a playoff series, tinkering with adjustments in the lead-up to each contest. A healthy roster, rest and the rare privilege of practice time are advantages. The Liberty, already traversing constant bouts of adversity, will be caught in a whirlwind playing four games in six days before finishing out the series. They play in Dallas on Aug. 8, head home for the afternoon Lynx tip-off, play in Los Angeles on Aug. 12 and in Las Vegas on Aug. 13. Those chasing the Liberty won't care, but the champs sure can't catch a break. Every break of light at the end of the tunnel is extinguished upon proximity. Center Jonquel Jones, their double-double foundation, returned out of the All-Star break only for Stewart to exit in the third game with the whole gang back together. A 10-point loss to the 11th-place Wings on Monday night sparked a team meeting. Every starter will have now missed time, forcing Brondello to enlist her 10th different starting lineup in 24 games. Their nine-game winning streak to begin the season gave way when Jones missed a June 14 rematch with Indiana, then led by a healthy Caitlin Clark. Lengthy forward Leonie Fiebich went to EuroBasket. Nyara Sabally, also ruled out this week, is contending with lingering injuries. Ionescu missed a game, as did point guard Natasha Cloud. Cloud's presence will give New York a speedier, stronger defender in the Lynx series. Though with the overall defensive difficulties the Liberty displayed without Stewart, it may be negated. Emma Meesseman, the Mystics' 2019 Finals MVP and a three-time EuroLeague MVP, will land stateside soon to add to their riches. Minnesota's rule over the WNBA standings hasn't been immune to difficulties, either. Smith is working through an 'ongoing' ankle injury, Reeve said on Sunday. A back injury hampered her effectiveness in the final two games of the Finals series. Napheesa Collier, the runaway league leader in win shares, also missed a couple of games and is playing with a brace on her shoulder. She built the beginnings of this season's MVP campaign in the postseason, averaging 23.8 points, 9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.9 blocks. The forward packed the stat line in a loss to Atlanta on Sunday with 32 points on 18 shots with 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. But no one else scored more than 12, and the frontcourt couldn't contain 6-foot-9 Brittney Griner's team-high 22 points. The Lynx falter most when they can't contribute around her. It hasn't proved a problem that often. The Lynx remain the league's best defense (93.3 points allowed per 100 possessions) and are scoring more on average through 26 games (85.8 ppg) than the same stretch a year ago (81.1 ppg). The offense remains historically clean, a data point to underline Reeve's belief in this team's chemistry continuity. The 1.919 assists-to-turnover ratio ranks third behind the heralded 2019 Washington Mystics (2.016) and 2023 Las Vegas Aces (1.951). They could again reset the assisted shot rate record after a historic 76.43 a year ago. The 2025 roster is at 74.50. In a season of odd stretches and moving team ceilings, the upcoming regular season series could mean a lot or nothing at all. Stars will miss time. Back-to-backs will impact availability. Rest will assist one team and burn the other. The No. 1 seed and home-court advantage through the Finals remain in the balance. The series still has a little bit of just about everything, only in a completely different way than it did nine months ago when it enthralled us all in October. Performer of the week: Dearica Hamby, Los Angeles Sparks The Sparks' five-game winning streak is a tad disingenuous given it consists of wins over Connecticut twice, Washington twice and a New York team reeling in the immediate aftermath of losing Stewart in the first three minutes. Still, wins are wins, and Los Angeles is making a post-All-Star push behind its duo of Dearica Hamby and Kelsey Plum. Hamby scored 17 points, shooting 72.7% overall (including making her only 3-point attempt), with 10 rebounds, one assist and one steal in the win over New York. In the three wins this week, she averaged 20.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and two assists. Even better for Hamby and Co.? Cameron Brink, the all-rookie level No. 2 overall pick, returns on Tuesday in her first action since an ACL tear cut her first year short. Brink will give the Sparks an appreciated defensive boost. She averaged 2.3 blocks over 15 games, second-best in the league. Game of the week Since we've already gone in-depth on Liberty-Lynx, let's look further into the week. Mercury at Dream, Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ION: Each team signed multiple jaw-dropping free agents to soar into the top of the standings at the halfway point. While Mercury trio Kahleah Copper, Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally have rarely played together, a strong supporting cast has Phoenix in a good spot with defense (99.1 defensive rating, fourth) and unselfish offensive play (21 assists per game ranks third). The Dream are shooting more 3-pointers than almost anyone else in the league, from point guard Jordin Canada on through to bigs Brittney Griner and Brionna Jones. Their size is tough to combat, as the Lynx experienced firsthand this week. Yahoo Sports power poll 1. Minnesota Lynx (22-5)2. Atlanta Dream (15-10)3. New York Liberty (17-8)4. Phoenix Mercury (16-9)5. Indiana Fever (14-12)6. Seattle Storm (16-11)7. Las Vegas Aces (13-13)8. Los Angeles Sparks (11-14)9. Washington Mystics (12-13)10. Golden State Valkyries (11-13)11. Dallas Wings (8-19)12. Chicago Sky (7-18)13. Connecticut Sun (4-21)
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liberty hold long team meeting after ‘embarrassing, frustrating' loss to Wings
Sandy Brondello and the New York Liberty sat in the visitors locker room at the College Park Center for nearly 40 minutes on Monday night. After a brutal loss to the Dallas Wings, which marked their second straight loss, they had some things to discuss. 'This has been going on for a few games,' Brondello said, via Winsider's Myles Ehrlich. 'We haven't started off well, so we had a team meeting.' The Wings, after building up a 30-point lead, held on to grab a 92-82 win over the Liberty in Arlington, Texas, on Monday night. It marked New York's second straight dropped game, following a loss at the buzzer to the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday. The Liberty opened up Monday's game on the wrong side of a 21-4 run, and they never recovered. The Wings held New York to just 36 points in the first half and took a 27-point lead into the break. Though Dallas' offense slowed way down in the second half — the Wings only put up seven points in the fourth quarter as a group, and briefly allowed New York to make it a two possession game — their lead was far too big for the Liberty to overcome. They held on to pick up the 10-point win behind 20 points and 14 assists from star Arike Ogunbowle. That moved them to 8-19 on the season, which is just one win shy of matching last year's win total. Jonquel Jones led the Liberty with 18 points and seven assists, and Sabrina Ionescu added 17 points while shooting 5-of-13 from the field. Jones called the loss 'embarrassing' and 'frustrating' when they got out of their meeting. 'They were just exploiting us in post ups and we had no resistance … we weren't as connected as we wanted to be,' Brondello said of their slow start. 'It really just starts with the effort.' Now in the Liberty's defense, they are without star Breanna Stewart, who left early in the first quarter of their loss to the Sparks on Saturday with a lower-leg injury. She has avoided a significant injury, but specifics aren't known and it's unclear when she'll be back. This is, though, the third time this season that the Liberty have dropped back-to-back games. They have a battle with the Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis on Wednesday night, too. The Lynx currently hold a league-best 22-5 record and now a four-game lead over the Liberty in the standings, thanks to their latest two losses. The Lynx have lost just one of their 15 games at the Target Center this season, too. If Monday's team meeting didn't work out and Stewart is still sidelined, that deficit in the standings could very easily grow. Ionescu, though, isn't trying to think about that. 'We've got to focus on ourselves,' she said. 'We shouldn't be playing any differently because of who we're matched up with, what their record is, how talented they are, there's no excuse for how we came out ... Any team can beat anyone in this league, and we were able to see that tonight."
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liberty star Breanna Stewart avoided significant leg injury, but return timeline is unclear
There appears to be reason for relief in New York. Liberty All-Star Breanna Stewart reportedly avoided a significant lower-leg injury after leaving early during Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. That's according to Madeline Kenney of the New York Post, who reported Sunday that imaging revealed the absence of a significant injury. The nature of Stewart's injury, however, is still unclear. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello confirmed the injury on Monday, but said they do not know what part of Stewart's leg is injured. She also did not have a timetable for Stewart's return. Despite the uncertainty, the news is certainly welcome in New York as the Liberty seek to repeat as WNBA champions. Per the report, Stewart will travel with the team for New York's upcoming four-game road trip that features a potential WNBA Finals preview against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx. Stewart's status for that matchup on Wednesday is far from certain. Per Kenney, the Liberty plan "to give her time to fully recover." [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Whether she's back on the court for the road trip or later, the report indicates that Stewart will be back in time for the stretch run of the season, which concludes on Sept. 11. Scary moment after apparent non-contact injury Stewart pulled up in the opening minutes of Saturday's game and asked to be taken out with what appeared to be a non-contact injury. She did not return to the game and was eventually ruled out at halftime. Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello told reporters after the game there was no update on Stewart's status. "Hopefully she'll be OK," Brondello said in her postgame news conference. Saturday's 101-99 loss to the Sparks on Saturday was the Liberty's first in six games to drop them to 17-7. They remain comfortably in first place in the Eastern Conference, three games ahead of the second-place Atlanta Dream (14-10). The Lynx maintain the best record in the WNBA (22-4), four games ahead of the Liberty in the race for home-court advantage in a potential Finals matchup. Stewart, a seven-time All-WNBA selection and two-time MVP, is key to New York's hopes of maintaining its edge in the East and repeating as WNBA champion.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liberty star Breanna Stewart avoided significant leg injury, but return timeline is unclear
There appears to be reason for relief in New York. Liberty All-Star Breanna Stewart reportedly avoided a significant lower-leg injury after leaving early during Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. That's according to Madeline Kenney of the New York Post, who reported Sunday that imaging revealed the absence of a significant injury. The nature of Stewart's injury, however, is still unclear. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello confirmed the injury on Monday, but said they do not know what part of Stewart's leg is injured. She also did not have a timetable for Stewart's return. Despite the uncertainty, the news is certainly welcome in New York as the Liberty seek to repeat as WNBA champions. Per the report, Stewart will travel with the team for New York's upcoming four-game road trip that features a potential WNBA Finals preview against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx. Stewart's status for that matchup on Wednesday is far from certain. Per Kenney, the Liberty plan "to give her time to fully recover." [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Whether she's back on the court for the road trip or later, the report indicates that Stewart will be back in time for the stretch run of the season, which concludes on Sept. 11. Scary moment after apparent non-contact injury Stewart pulled up in the opening minutes of Saturday's game and asked to be taken out with what appeared to be a non-contact injury. She did not return to the game and was eventually ruled out at halftime. Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello told reporters after the game there was no update on Stewart's status. "Hopefully she'll be OK," Brondello said in her postgame news conference. Saturday's 101-99 loss to the Sparks on Saturday was the Liberty's first in six games to drop them to 17-7. They remain comfortably in first place in the Eastern Conference, three games ahead of the second-place Atlanta Dream (14-10). The Lynx maintain the best record in the WNBA (22-4), four games ahead of the Liberty in the race for home-court advantage in a potential Finals matchup. Stewart, a seven-time All-WNBA selection and two-time MVP, is key to New York's hopes of maintaining its edge in the East and repeating as WNBA champion.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Breanna Stewart reportedly avoided significant leg injury, will travel with Liberty on upcoming road trip
There appears to be reason for relief in New York. Liberty All-Star Breanna Stewart reportedly avoided a significant lower-leg injury after leaving early during Saturday's loss to the Los Angeles Sparks. That's according to Madeline Kenney of the New York Post, who reported Sunday that imaging revealed the absence of a significant injury. The nature of Stewart's injury is unclear from the report. But the news is certainly welcome in New York as the Liberty seek to repeat as WNBA champions. Per the report, Stewart will travel with the team for New York's upcoming four-game road trip that features a potential WNBA Finals preview against the league-leading Minnesota Lynx. Stewart's status for that matchup on Wednesday is far from certain. Per Kenney, the Liberty plan "to give her time to fully recover." [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Whether she's back on the court for the road trip or later, the report indicates that Stewart will be back in time for the stretch run of the season, which concludes on Sept. 11. Scary moment after apparent non-contact injury Stewart pulled up in the opening minutes of Saturday's game and asked to be taken out with what appeared to be a non-contact injury. She did not return to the game and was eventually ruled out at halftime. Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello told reporters after the game that there was no update on Stewart's status. "Hopefully she'll be OK," Brondello said in her postgame news conference. Saturday's 101-99 loss to the Sparks on Saturday was the Liberty's first in six games to drop them to 17-7. They remain comfortably in first place in the Eastern Conference, three games ahead of the second-place Atlanta Dream (14-10). The Lynx maintain the best record in the WNBA (22-4), four games ahead of the Liberty in the race for home-court advantage in a potential Finals matchup. Stewart, a seven-time All-WNBA selection and two-time MVP, is key to New York's hopes of maintaining its edge in the East and repeating as WNBA champion.
