The Liberty were plotting a revenge game after losing to the Phoenix Mercury last week, but without Jonquel Jones, who re-sprained her right ankle, New York could not put anything of substance together in a 106-91 loss on Friday night.
While the Liberty shot 51% from the field, it was no match for the Mercury’s offensive production, going 18-of-39 from three-point range, which set a new franchise record for made threes in a single game.
Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu combined for just eight points in the first half, and the Liberty went down by as many as 19 points in the opening 20 minutes. Without their scoring production, Kennedy Burke stepped up in the first quarter with 10 points but didn’t score again in the game.
Marine Johannes and Nyara Sabally added to the scoreboard with nine and eight points in the first half, respectively. But it wasn’t enough to combat the Mercury, who had three players hit 10 points in Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally, and Kahleah Copper.
Phoenix took a 28-19 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a nine-point run and only added to it in the second. The Liberty found a spark to embark on a 13-2 run, which included three triples from Johannes, to cut their deficit to 44-37 with four minutes left before halftime. However, the Mercury continued to go on runs and went into the locker room with a 61-43 lead.
New York seemed to find an offensive solution, and a 10-2 run brought them trailing 66-55 with 6:33 left in the third quarter. Stewart woke up, and six consecutive points put them back within double digits at 68-61 just two minutes later.
But in the blink of an eye (and five made three-pointers later), the Mercury’s cushion was back, and they had the 88-70 advantage to go into the final quarter.
Stewart and Natasha Cloud fueled the Liberty in the third quarter, each adding 10 points. Stewart finished the night with 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists while Cloud added 14 points, seven assists, and four rebounds.
New York matched Phoenix’s scoring in the third quarter and scored three more points in the fourth, but it was too little, too late to overcome the deficit. The Liberty has now lost four of their last six games.
