By Justin “Say Say” Rivers

Betnijah Laney and the New York Liberty (10-12, 3^rd in Eastern Conference) will kick off a two-game, home-and-home set against the Seattle Storm (16-6, 2^nd in Western Conference).

Last game, the Liberty opened up the second half of the season on the road against the Lynx. In total, the Liberty had four double-digit scorers: Natasha Howard (30), Sabrina Ionescu (14), Betnijah Laney (12), and Sami Whitcomb (12). Impressively, the team also tied a season-low in turnovers with their ten total turnovers.

In her return from injury, Natasha Howard flirted with a new career-high in scoring. During her 30-point explosion, Howard paced the Liberty offense and went 13-for-22 from the field – establishing career-highs in makes and attempts. She also tied a career-high for points in a half with her 20-point first half.

With her 12-point, four-assist night, 2021 All-Star Betnijah Laney scored in double figures for the 20th time through her first 22 games in seafoam.

Tonight, New York will look to snap their three-game skid against Howard and Whitcomb’s former squad.

SAM BAM FOR MIP

With her breakout, inaugural season in seafoam this season, Sami Whitcomb has undoubtedly cemented her name in the Most Improved Player conversation. The 5-foot-10 California native came to the Big Apple this past off-season following a four-season stint in the Pacific Northwest, during which she won two WNBA Championships (2018 & 2020) and averaged 8.1 points and 2.3 rebounds on 44.3% shooting from the field and 38.1% from deep.

Now one game into the second half of the season, Whitcomb is averaging 12.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. She is shooting 48.2% from the field and knocking down the deep ball at a 43.3% clip. Her 58 made triples this season leads the WNBA and are more three-pointers than she made all of last season and more than her first two seasons with the Storm combined. She’s also seventh in three-point percentage (minimum 30 attempts) and top-25 in rebounds per game.

In her debut campaign as a full-time starter, she is posting career-highs across the board in points, rebounds, assists, field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and minutes per game. With regard to advanced stats, she leads the Liberty in win shares, true shooting percentage, effective field goal percentage, and player efficiency rating. Plus, she leads the team in offensive rating despite not being the team’s leading scorer.

If not the clear and obvious front-runner, then Sami Whitcomb is clearly deserving of being a serious contender in the Most Improved Player conversation, because she has been nothing short of a boon for the Liberty this season and a major reason why the team is in the top half of the conference standings and in playoff contention.

A PLEASURE DOING BUSINESS

Before arriving in New York via trade in February, Natasha Howard spent three seasons in the Pacific Northwest playing for the Storm, during which the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Along with Howard, Sami Whitcomb was also a member of the 2018 and 2020 WNBA Championship-winning teams. In 2018, Natasha was awarded the league’s Most Improved Player Award, and the following season, she was an All-WNBA First Team selection and the WNBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2019.

Now, three games into her 2021 campaign, Howard is averaging 19.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game and is looking to be the reinforcement the Liberty need to combat skilled bigs as the team attempts to make the postseason for the first time since 2017.