Liberty Falls Short Against Wings Despite Rally

In Arlington, Texas, Liberty came close to mounting an incredible comeback on Monday night.

After trailing by 30 points, they managed to cut the deficit to just 6 with 1:44 remaining.

Still, New York fell short, losing to the Wings 92-82.

The comeback attempt was certainly thrilling; New York outscored the Wings 20-7 in the final quarter.

However, calling this performance “embarrassing” might still not capture how underwhelming the defending champions have been in many games this season.

At the start of the third quarter, New York faced the risk of experiencing one of their heaviest defeats in recent years against the Wings, who currently sit second in the WNBA standings.

You could argue that Liberty deserves some credit for rallying from such a deep hole.

Yet, the way they played for most of the game was not up to par for a team that aims to win another title.

It’s true that New York was missing key players—Brenna Stewart due to a right leg issue, Nyara Sabally for rest, and Kennedy Burke was added to the injury report after suffering a cramp during Saturday’s game.

Still, the team has enough talent to compete with the Wings, who had been struggling, losing six of their previous seven matches.

And their tight schedule shouldn’t be an excuse; although it was New York’s third game in four days, the Wings had played just 24 hours earlier.

In fact, Liberty had an extra day to prepare for this matchup.

So, did New York underestimate the Wings? Or perhaps they were too focused on an upcoming rematch in the WNBA Finals?

The Wings capitalized on Liberty’s defensive lapses, steadily increasing their lead throughout the first half.

New York often looked lost on defense, which allowed Dallas to appear dominant.

Shooting 58.7% from the field in the first half and finishing at 46.2% for the game, the Wings took full advantage of the opportunities presented to them.

Liberty allowed 31 and 32 points in the first two quarters, resulting in a 27-point halftime deficit.

But the game wasn’t entirely without fight; once again this season, Liberty rallied in the second half.

They outscored the Wings 46-29 after halftime.

Still, it should never have gotten to that point, and ultimately, Liberty couldn’t dig themselves out of the early hole.

This game could serve as a warning, especially with a critical matchup against the league-leading Lynx approaching— a team they previously beat in the decisive Game 5 of last year’s WNBA Finals.