The New York Liberty have regrouped in Los Angeles for practice as they prepare to launch into a critical 13-game stretch before the FIBA World Cup break. The team returns to action Tuesday against the Sparks, aiming to build on recent momentum after concluding a challenging first half of the season.
Following a four-day break that saw players dispersed across the country, the Liberty convened in Los Angeles on Monday. This marks the beginning of a five-week period where the team will play 13 games. "Now you got to push to finish off really strong before the World Cup," guard Sabrina Ionescu said. "It’s always nice to kind of be able to reset, get a little bit of time. That month was crazy for us with a lot of travel…. It’s already [almost] August, and then September’s the World Cup, and then there’s a couple more games, and then playoffs start. Like, it’s gone really, really fast, and so I think for us, it’s just kind of focusing on this next month."
The initial 27 games of the Liberty's season were characterized by roster fluctuations. The team secured the Commissioner's Cup and achieved an eight-game winning streak. However, after a difficult start to July, New York managed to snap a season-long four-game losing streak with consecutive one-point victories.
During Monday's practice, the focus was on intentionality. "We’ve flipped the page over, especially at those final two games where we won in some pretty big moments," said forward Rebecca Allen. "And I think collectively, on the defensive side, we’ve really picked it up a notch. And I think the communication, the intensity, the helping each other, that aspect has really taken a step up, and that’s something we need to continue and maintain for the 40 minutes."
This season, the Liberty have struggled to consistently weather adversity. In their last matchup in Los Angeles on June 21, they squandered a 17-point second-half lead and lost on a buzzer-beater. New York has experienced more losses than wins since that game, and in July, the team developed a habit of falling into double-digit deficits. Despite these challenges, the Liberty, currently seventh in the standings at 15-12, are four games ahead of the ninth-place Portland Fire. "At the end of the day, a win is a win, and we’re still gonna learn," noted guard Rebekah Gardner. "Definitely take that good energy [from the past week] into this road trip. And we were talking about we have [13] games before the next break, so they’re all very important for our standing. So we understand the importance of these next three games. Just taking it one game at a time."
Ionescu remains optimistic about the team's championship aspirations, drawing inspiration from the New York Knicks' recent playoff run. "Watching the Knicks and seeing how a team could be down by 20 at some point and 15 in the fourth and in a Finals series, then come back and win, it kind of gives like good insight to understanding how tough you have to be mentally and how connected you have to be as a team to be able to weather that storm," she said. "For us to be having that adversity early on in a season and find ways to win speaks a lot about who we are as individuals and the togetherness that we have."