ARLINGTON — No Breanna Stewart. No Kennedy Burke. And no Nyara Sabally.
However that’s not even a adequate excuse for a way unhealthy the Liberty regarded in Monday’s 92-82 loss to the Dallas Wings at School Park Middle.
The efficiency was so unhealthy that head coach Sandy Brondello, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones didn’t sit down on the postgame podium until about 30 after the ultimate buzzer.
The Liberty held a workforce assembly after a loss that featured a deficit as large as 30 factors with gamers that regarded nearly uncompetitive for many of the night time.
Don’t be fooled by the ultimate rating. It took a ridiculous collapse from the lowly Dallas Wings down the stretch — Liberty gained the second half 46-29 — to make the field rating look respectable.
For 2-and-a-half quarters, the Liberty have been terrible.
“This has been going on for a few games. We haven’t started off well so we just had a team meeting,” Brondello mentioned postgame.
It’s the second consecutive recreation the Liberty regarded uninspired to start a recreation. On Saturday, Brondello’s workforce misplaced the primary quarter, 35-20, to the Los Angeles Sparks and ultimately fell sufferer to Rickea Jackson’s game-winning buzzer-beater on the finish of regulation.
On Monday night time, the Wings stretched an early 11-2 run right into a 31-19 first-quarter efficiency.
“It’s an effort thing,” Brondello described as the rationale for the lackluster performances. “It’s simply how we come out of the gate. We’re not competing at a excessive stage … we all know what we’re able to like within the second half, however we cant — I don’t know — complacency. [Dallas is] on a back-to-back, so there’s no excuse. So we’ve obtained to dig slightly bit deeper. Now we have to take slightly bit extra satisfaction within the defensive space.
“It doesn’t matter that we have players out. Everyone does. So we’ve just got to be more committed to that side of the ball and then not allow their offense dictate our defense.”
The Liberty dug themselves in a gap early. Stagnant offense and too many settled three-pointers obtained the Wings comfortably in transition. And the paint space was large open for Dallas, who scored 34 factors within the paint by halftime.
“I think they kind of picked on out pick-and-roll defense and kind of exploited us there,” Jones mentioned.
Wings trio Arike Ogunbowale, Paige Bueckers and Luisa Geiselsoder mixed for 38 factors after the primary two quarters — two greater than what all the Liberty workforce scored at that time. Dallas led, 63-36, at halftime and notched franchise-highs in area objectives made (26) and assists (20) for a single half.
Ultimately, Ogunbowale completed with a game-high 20 factors and 14 assists. Bueckers had 20 factors, six rebounds, 4 assists and three steals.
Ionescu — on behalf of all Liberty gamers — took full duty after the loss.
“It’s never on the coaching staff, right? Like we’re the ones that go out and play,” mentioned Ionescu, who completed with 17 factors, 5 assists, 4 rebounds and a steal.
“We’re a team full of leaders that are always gonna take accountability for the way that we come out. I think we were just kind of passive, waiting to see what they were going to do instead of being able to be on our front foot and in attack mode. I think it’s kind of a game we can use to learn about what happens when we come out that passive and just kind of rush, like not being able to trust our offense and defense, and we just got to use it to propel us forward.”
Monday’s recreation seemed to be one of many worst performances in New York’s Brondello period. The Liberty regarded like those taking part in on a again finish of a back-to-back. If it wasn’t for the late comeback that shortened the deficit to 6, the workforce would’ve boarded their chartered flight with the unhealthy style of their mouths following a dreadful efficiency.
The primary 25 minutes have been unwatchable. That wasn’t a workforce defending a title and on a mission repeat for an opportunity at lifting the trophy for a second time in franchise historical past.
So how did they describe these 25 minutes after the workforce assembly? Embarrassing? Irritating?
“All of those words you just used,” mentioned Jonquel Jones, who contributed 18 factors and 7 rebounds within the loss.
“Embarrassing, irritating. A bit disappointing as a result of we all know the extent of play that we maintain ourselves to, and the caliber of play that we performed at prior to now.
“Just like Sabrina said, use it as a learning opportunity and come out the next game and I’ll do it because it’s been happening for a few games now.”
And if the uninspiring, low-effort play continues into New York’s subsequent recreation — a highway WNBA Finals rematch towards the Minnesota Lynx — the scoreboard will look a lot worse.
The sting of getting pummeled by a possible WNBA Finals opponents would really feel a lot worse than what occurred at School Park Middle on Monday night time.
Ionescu, although, doesn’t suppose the current poor performances are a wake-up name because the Liberty put together for the WNBA Finals rematch.
“No, I mean, we got to focus on ourselves,” she mentioned. We shouldn’t be taking part in any otherwise due to who we’re matched up with. what their file is, how proficient they’re. There’s not likely any excuse for the best way we come out, like we have to worth each single recreation the season, common season is like, nearly over I really feel like in a blink of an eye fixed. Can’t let any of those alternatives cross us by with the gamers that we have now on this locker room.”
The web page now turns to Wednesday’s WNBA Finals rematch with out Stewart (leg) and Sabally (knee discomfort).
Brondello supplied no timeline to return for these gamers, however deemed Burke day-to-day because the Sixth Participant of the Yr candidate offers with lower-body cramps.
Initially Revealed: July 28, 2025 at 8:17 PM EDT
