The New York Liberty were in command for the entire first half of the game against the Dallas Wings on Friday night. The Liberty came out of the gate sprinting and held a 19-point advantage in the first 20 minutes of the game.
The third quarter was a different story. Dallas outscored New York 23-14 in the quarter, giving it a chance at the win with a seven-point deficit going into the final 10 minutes.
New York started the fourth quarter like it started the first and topped the Wings’ production in the frame. Dallas couldn’t find another spark to outperform the Liberty, and New York’s first-half cushion propelled it to win 88-77.
The Liberty have highlighted their success when they move the ball around all season, and they proved how much it impacts their dominance. All 11 of New York’s made field goals in the first quarter were assisted. The energy started on the other side of the court, though, and they stole the ball six times in the opening frame.
New York jumped out to a 9-3 lead after just two minutes of play, with every point coming from a different Liberty player. Dallas called a timeout to try to flip the momentum and it seemed to work when Aziaha James hit a three right out of the break. However, New York immediately took control again and led 23-9 four minutes later.
The Wings trailed 28-15 to start the second quarter until Diamond Miller made a jumper for the first points of the frame. Miller led her squad with six points at the end of the first half, but it wasn’t comparable to the red-hot Liberty.
New York went on a 10-2 run following Miller’s make to take a 38-19 lead with 6:56 left in the second quarter. Natasha Cloud capped off the run with two three-pointers, and Dallas attempted to ice the Liberty with another timeout.
The Wings still couldn’t stop New York, but its scoring production slowed down and most points of the rest of the quarter were scored from the free throw line. Dallas went 8-of-9 from the charity stripe in the first half and New York also saw success, going 11-of-11.
Miller tried to cut into the Wings’ deficit and scored two buckets before halftime, but Emma Meesseman answered both makes with one of her own to go up 50-34. Meesseman notched 14 points in the first half. She couldn’t score again but added eight rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.
Dallas came out of halftime with intensity, while New York’s slipped. The Wings embarked on a 12-2 run to put the score at 54-56 with 4:24 left in the third quarter. Arike Ogunbowale fueled the switch in her team and finished the night with 17 points, with 12 coming in the third quarter.
The Liberty outscored Dallas 8-6 in the final three minutes of the third quarter to hold a 64-57 lead, with Marine Johannès contributing all of New York’s points in the span.
Rebounds powered the Wings’ comeback attempt. New York has struggled on the boards all season and were outrebounded 40-32. The woes come especially from the offensive end and the Liberty only hauled in five offensive rebounds, compared to Dallas’ 10.
New York got back on track and went on a 13-1 run to start the fourth quarter. The points came from Jonquel Jones, Leonie Fiebich, and Johannès to take the 77-58 lead with six minutes to go and the Wings couldn’t take control again.
Maddy Siegrist didn’t let off the gas and scored nine straight points in a 14-2 run to pull the deficit to 79-72. Dallas continued its comeback attempt but the two minutes left on the clock wasn’t enough to top New York.
