The Liberty defense helped New York end the game on a 6-0 run and survive a feisty Golden State Valkyries team, 82-77, on Thursday night to remain undefeated.

New York is now 5-0, the first time they have won their first five games since 2007, and it's tied for the second-best start in franchise history.

Here are the takeaways...

-The Liberty were without Nyara Sabally (knee) for the second consecutive game while Jonquel Jones (hamstring) was ruled out earlier in the day. Kennedy Burke was inserted in the starting lineup for Jones and the Valkyries took advantage early on.

Golden State was making it a point to drive to the basket and were all over the offensive glass -- a problem the Liberty have had all season. They took an early 6-3 lead but the threes began to fall for New York, especially for Sabrina Ionescu. Ionescu entered Thursday's game shooting just 25 percent from three, but found her range early, hitting three of her first five three-pointers. She scored a game-high 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting in the first quarter.

However, it was a different start than the one these two teams had two days ago. It was 27-10 Liberty after the first quarter in their first meeting, but the defending champs had just a two-point advantage (20-18). Six Liberty turnovers and Golden State outrebounding New York, 13-7 and 7-2 on the offensive glass were the keys for the Valkyries to keep pace. Golden State did not take advantage of the offensive boards, as they only had two second-chance points in that first frame.

-The second quarter was more of the same. The Liberty were turning the ball over and quickening their offensive pace when they didn't have to. That allowed Golden State to recapture the lead and force a Sandy Brondello timeout with about five minutes left in the quarter. Perhaps the Liberty were feeling their brutal early-season schedule because their defense was lacking in the second quarter.

New York was outscored 19-17 in the second quarter, leading to a tied 37-37 game going into halftime. There was a spark in the final minute as the Liberty defense forced two Valkyries turnovers to end the half. Ionescu still led with 17 points at the half, but Breanna Stewart was having a rough first half. She had just nine points on 1 of 5 shooting.

-That defensive intensity from the Liberty carried over into the third quarter as they forced turnovers to retake the lead with seven minutes to go. But Golden State would slow things down and regularly get to the free throw line. Their own defense continued to get them back in the game as the two teams traded buckets. Marine Johannes' three with under a minute to go allowed New York to enter the fourth quarter with a one-point lead.

-An extended 8-0 run helped the Liberty get out to a five-point lead early in the fourth but the Valkyries would not stay down. They would get back to a 65-65 game with five minutes to go and the lead with four minutes remaining. The lead would change consistently as Stewart accounted for most of the Liberty scoring by getting to the free throw line. But it was New York's defense that helped pull this out. They forced a five-second violation with 43 seconds remaining and Natasha Cloud cut up the middle when the defense parted to swarm Stewart for an easy layup to put the Liberty up by three.

Leonie Fiebich's defense forced an airball on a three and Cloud hit two free throws to put the game away.

-Stewart forced 16 fouls and finished with 27 points on 6 of 12 shooting and was 15-for-19 from the charity stripe. She also had seven rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks. Ionescu finished with 24 points on 7 of 21 shooting (6-for-15 from three). Fiebich had three points while Cloud finished seven and Burke had 11 points -- with seven rebounds -- to round out the scoring for the Liberty starters.

The Liberty averaged 12.5 turnovers a game heading into Thursday and finished with 15. They had 11 in the first half, which shows how much more careful they were in the second half.

Game MVP: Breanna Stewart

Ionescu was the MVP of the first half but when the offense became stagnant in the second half, Stewart's physicality helped New York survive.

Here are the takeaways...

Game MVP: Breanna Stewart

Highlights

Popular in the Community