When Liberty’s offense was successful last season, the core of its success was 3-point shooting.
Sabrina Ionescu set a WNBA record with 128 baskets from beyond the arc.
He was one shot away from tying the league single-game record of 18 games four times.
In the first two games of 2024, the Liberty struggled to replicate that.
They connected on a total of 16 3s.
But in Saturday’s home opener with a 91-80 win over the Fever, they unleashed their offensive elements, making 12 3-pointers in the first half and 15 total, and Ionescu had four hits, Bethonia Rainey Hamilton had three, and Liberty’s other three starting pitchers each had two hits.
“I think Indiana saw us making a lot of mistakes in the first two games and probably decided to clog the paint a little bit,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said. “We looked at the big picture. We have some great shooters. We miss a few shots in a game, but when you look at the course as a whole, we have some great shooters. [of the season], that’s not my intention. ”
After Caitlin Clark hit her first 3-pointer of the game to give the Fever a one-point lead, Jonquel Jones responded with a one-pointer on the other side of the court.
Lainey Hamilton stole the ball and just 10 seconds later Courtney Vandersloot scored three more points.
Liberty, which shot 29 percent in the first two games, never trailed again, finishing the first 20 minutes shooting 66.7 percent from 3s.
Lainey Hamilton and Brianna Stewart each made additional 3-pointers within the first four minutes of the second half.
“You have to decide if you want to get the basket or the 3-point shot,” Laney Hamilton said. The afternoon Clark and her vintage 3-pointer came to Brooklyn, it was Liberty. Who took advantage of those open attempts and turned the game on its head with those shots.
Amidst the buzz about Clark playing in New York City for the first time, Liberty earned more than $2 million in ticket revenue for Saturday’s game, setting a WNBA record, according to the Associated Press.
Indiana played in front of capacity crowds in all three of Clark’s rookie season openers, both at home and on the road, reaching the home opener at Barclays Center for the Liberty.
“I think obviously the buzz and attention that Caitlin brings from Iowa to the WNBA is going to be an overall win for everyone,” Stewart said. “And now she’s part of our league…Even though we’re competing with each other, we’re making sure that together we continue to elevate this league.”
