Liberty coach Sandy Brondello has incredible depth to throw at opponents as the defending WNBA champions’ season continues. AP Photo by Vera Nieuwenhuis
The defending WNBA champion Liberty might not think of themselves as the Dirty Dozen.
But their first four opponents have become acquainted with how potent New York’s roster is from Big Three to Bench Mob.
“Our bench and our depth is what is going to separate us from everyone else,” said Liberty forward Breanna Stewart after New York opened its two-game set with Golden State by breezing past the expansion Valkyries, 95-67, on Tuesday night in Downtown Brooklyn.
While Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Sabrina Ionescu and reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week Natasha Cloud continue to gobble up most of the headlines, the Liberty run 12 deep every game, as evidenced in their fourth straight 90-plus point performance.
Marine Johannes, enjoying her third stint with New York (4-0), provided instant offense off the bench with a season-high 18 points, draining six of New York’s 14 3-pointers.
Veteran guard Rebekah Gardner added eight points on 4-of-6 shooting to go with two steals and a blocked shot on the defensive end.
Kennedy Burke had seven points and five rebounds and Isabelle Harrison finished with four points and two assists for the Liberty, who had a season-high 30 helpers on a night they led from start to finish.
“She continues to get better and better,” New York coach Sandy Brondello said of Gardner, who logged a plus-16 point differential during her 16 minutes on the hardwood.
“She’s a great defender, but she’s feeling better positioning on and off the ball.”
Johannes, who missed last year’s title run while preparing for the Paris Olympics in her native France, was coming off a scoreless effort in Indiana Saturday before zeroing in Tuesday at Barclays Center.
“I think for Marine, she was just like, finding her rhythm,” Stewart said of the 30-year-old sharp-shooter. “And especially at home, you know, she has that confidence, knowing that one falls in, next one goes in.”
The Liberty only needed 11 players in their latest win as reserve center Nyara Sabally missed her second straight contest with a right-knee issue. She is listed as questionable for Thursday night’s rematch with the Valkyries (2-2).
“We work hard, we focus on the things we have to do to win a basketball game,” said Jones after putting up 13 points and grabbing 10 boards Tuesday.
New York’s Big Three is also morphing into a Fantastic Four after Cloud earned her first weekly honor from the league.
The fiery 5-foot-10 point guard averaged 18.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, a league-high 2.7 steals and 1.3 blocks in her first three games with the Liberty.
She added 10 assists to go with five points, three rebounds and a steal in the opener vs. Golden State, distributing the wealth to the rest of her teammates, including Stewart, who had 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
“I wouldn’t say we’ve gotten that much practice time together,” the two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player said of her new point guard. “Our chemistry can only grow.”
The Valkyries had won two in a row before arriving in Brooklyn.
Barclays fan favorite Kayla Thornton got her 2024 championship ring from the Liberty before tip-off Tuesday.
She also put up a team high-tying 13 points for Golden State, which matched its season-low point total, gave up 32 points off turnovers and got outscored 22-3 from the opening tip.
Stewart had the first nine of those points, but only 15 thereafter as the champs sent wave after wave of talent at the WNBA’s newest team.
Thornton got misty-eyed just seeing her former teammates, and perhaps catching a glimpse of what she may be missing out on as this “run it back” campaign continues.
“I don’t even want to get emotional again, but, [the fans] are amazing,” she said. “And I know I’m at a new team, and my Golden State fans are great, too. But New York fans will always, always hold a special place in my heart.”
Tip-off Thursday is at 7 p.m.
GIVE ME LIBERTY: Leonie Fiebich, a huge part of last year’s postseason run to the title, is off to an uneven start offensively. The German forward had nine points total in New York’s first three games, but got off the schneid a bit Tuesday, scoring eight points on 3-of-4 shooting to go with six rebounds and only one turnover in 26 minutes. … The Liberty and Brooklyn Public Library announced Wednesday that they have collaborated to issue 100,000 special edition library cards featuring the 2024 WNBA Champions and Liberty mascot, Ellie the Elephant. This summer, the Liberty and BPL will also partner through Brooklyn Basketball to support the library’s summer reading programming. … Cloud has led the Liberty in assists in each of the first four games and Jones has done the same off the glass. … After hosting the Valkyries, the Liberty will travel to Washington Friday before returning to Barclays to host conference rival Connecticut here Sunday at 3 p.m.
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