New York takes down Las Vegas in a 40-point beatdown, 7th win in last 8 games
By Noah Zimmerman
noah@queensledger.com
BARCLAYS CENTER – It was a 40-point win in Brooklyn for the New York Liberty on Sunday afternoon, their 7th victory in the last 8 games. The visiting Aces were resting the star trio of A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, and Jackie Young following Saturday’s road loss in Minnesota, and without them Las Vegas only managed to score 71 points, their second lowest mark of the season.
Jonquel Jones scored all 15 of her points in the first half as the Liberty cruised to an 11-point advantage at the half. Without their MVP frontrunner in Wilson, Las Vegas were exposed on the inside. New York had a 8-1 advantage on the offensive glass, leading 23-11 in total team rebounds at halftime.
Helping the Liberty leap forward was Marine Johannes, exploding off the bench for a series of deep shots and dazzling plays. In the 3rd quarter she drove to the rim for a tough contested layup before stepping behind the three-point line.
Shot after shot dropped for the magician, who rode her hot hand into the 4th quarter. Johannes ended the game with a WNBA career high 27 points, hitting 7 of her 12 threes. She also picked up 3 assists, some coming after drawing two defenders at the top of the key.
“These are trap games if you take teams lightly because their stars are out,” said Breanna Stewart, who scored 14 points with 4 assists and 4 boards in the win. “You never know what’s gonna happen, so I’m happy about how we brought it with our entire roster. ”
With New York running away, Stewart played just 23 minutes. It was her first game logging under 30 minutes played since the end of May and lowest floor time all season.
“If every game could be like this it would be incredible,” Stewart said with a chuckle. “It was good to see everybody get going and get confident. We need that to carry over. It helps when we have a condensed week ahead.”
Up next for the Liberty is a pivotal week as they enter the final stretch of the regular season. On Tuesday night, New York took on the Indiana Fever before coming back to the Barclays Center to host the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night. After that there’s just nine games left for the Liberty to climb the standings, with home court advantage in the playoffs still within reach.
Goodbye, Betnijah
Liberty Waive Laney-Hamilton in an unceremonious end to her NY tenure
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton is a certified New York Liberty legend. B arrived in Brooklyn in 2021, the Liberty’s first season playing home games at the Barclays Center. The 2020 Most Improved Player immediately got to work, leading the team’s transformation in their new era.
Laney averaged 16.8 points per game with 5.2 assists, career highs in both stats. She made the 2021 WNBA All-Star game, her only career selection. With her help, New York exceeded expectations, making a playoff run where they were narrowly defeated by the Phoenix Mercury in a single-elimination game, 83-82.
After that, the Liberty’s transformation truly began. Former #1 overall pick Sabrina Ionescu finally blossomed into a star in 2022 with Natasha Howard joining her at the All-Star Game. Laney, however, only played 9 games that year, sidelined with a knee injury.
Laney would come back the next year for the first of New York’s back-to-back WNBA Finals runs. Betnijah’s defense was a key part of the team’s success, with her making the league’s All-Defensive 2nd team and finishing 4th in DPOY voting.
She’ll most be remembered for her 2024 Finals Game 2 performance, where she put the team on her back to will New York to an unlikely win over the Lynx. It was a turning point in the series the Liberty would win in 4 games, and Laney will forever be remembered as a key to the team’s first ever WNBA Championship.
Laney-Hamilton was picked up by the Washington Mystics, who are well in the playoff picture, currently tied for 5th in a tight standings. She was in DC on Sunday, cheering on her new teammates as they beat Phoenix for their 7th straight win.
The Mystics are going to be a real problem, with a young team now backed by Laney’s veteran guidance and championship pedigree. Hopefully New York won’t find themselves facing Laney and the Mystics come playoff time.
