By Justin “Say Say” Rivers

Coming off of Wednesday night’s nail-biter, Betnijah Laney and the New York Liberty (11-12, 3^nd in Eastern Conference) will attempt to sweep their two-game, back-to-back set against Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm (16-7, 2^nd in Western Conference).

Last game, the Liberty snapped their three-game skid with an 83-79 victory against the Storm. Punctuated by Betnijah Laney’s clutch, go-ahead pullup dagger with 17.6 second remaining, New York overcame not only a 15-point, second-half deficit, but also a 21-point third quarter and 35-point night from Jewell Lloyd en route to the comeback win.

In total, New York had four double-digit scorers: Betnijah Laney (17), Rebecca Allen (17), Sabrina Ionescu (10), and Natasha Howard (10). This season, the team is now 9-4 when they have 4+ double-digit scorers. Impressively, the Liberty went 50-40-90 for just the sixth time in franchise history, all of which resulted in wins.

Both 2021 All-Star Betnijah Laney and 2020 No. 1 overall pick Sabrina Ionescu put in the kind of all-around performances that have since become synonymous with their play this season. Laney finished with 17 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds, and Ionescu finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, and five assists.

Notably, the Liberty’s longest-tenured veteran, Rebecca Allen, had a 17-point night that included five three-pointers and a 14-point second half. Allen sparked the Liberty offense in the second half and kept the game in reach.

The Liberty will try to capitalize on this performance Friday night when they play the Storm again with the return of Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird to Seattle’s lineup.

DIDI’S DEVELOPMENT

In Wednesday’s matchup against the Storm, 2021 No. 17 overall pick DiDi Richards was a star. With her nine-point outing that included two made three-pointers, the 6-foot-2 guard/forward set new career-highs in points, three-pointers made, and field goals. Most impressively, Richards finished with a game-high +19 plus/minus, and her stellar defense on Jewell Loyd in the final period was vital to New York’s victory.

Coming off a college career at Baylor where she garnered the 2020 Naismith, WBCA and BIG 12 Defensive Player of The Year Awards, Richards is top-15 in Defensive Rating and is already developing into a top defender in the league.

After only attempting just one three-pointer in her four-year collegiate career, she went 2-for-2 from behind the arc against Seattle, and she has made three of her nine attempts this season. With her confidence growing on the offensive end, Richards will look to capitalize on her great play in the Liberty’s rematch against the Storm Friday night, a game in which she will get the opportunity to not only matchup again against Lloyd, but also WNBA legend Sue Bird.

BOTTOM LINE

Going into Friday’s Back-to-School Game and with nine games remaining in the regular season, New York is the seventh-ranked team in the league standings and only three games back of the Lynx for the fourth spot.

With one of their marquee off-season acquisitions in Natasha Howard back and rounding into form, the Liberty look primed for a late season playoff push. Add in the fact that they have Betnijah Laney, Sabrina Ionescu, Most Improved Player candidate Sami Whitcomb, and Rookie of the Year frontrunner Michaela Onyenwere in the fold, the Liberty have a core that on a good day can matchup anyone and make some noise in the postseason.