The month-long Olympic break comes at a lucky time for Betnijah Rainey-Hamilton and Liberty.
The Liberty star underwent “minor” surgery on his right knee on Tuesday and is expected to miss four to six weeks, the team announced.
“Yeah, the B’s did a little cleaning today,” coach Sandy Brondello said before Liberty’s 82-74 win. “I thought now would be the best time to do a cleaning while we’re off from the Olympics. We’ll get it done in four to six weeks. Everything’s going well, so we’ll plan on doing that.”
Despite Lainie Hamilton missing the past three games with an injury, the Liberty closed out the first half of the WNBA season with a win over the Sun on Tuesday night at Barclays Center.
The Liberty resumed competition after the Olympic break on Aug. 15, just over four weeks after player Rainey Hamilton’s surgery.
“It was a very simple operation,” Brondello continued.[She’s] She had some problems with her knee. I think it’s a basketball player’s knee problem, but I think most professional athletes have the same problem. So it’s just a matter of managing it well. I don’t think there will be any limitations on her return. She’ll just use as much time as she can during the Olympic break to recover again.”
Lenny Hamilton, who has a 10-year career, has a history of knee problems.
In 2022, she injured her right knee and underwent arthroscopic partial meniscectomy surgery for torn meniscal cartilage.
She missed three games in June this season with the same knee injury.
She returned and played in three games but experienced swelling in her knee during a bus trip to Connecticut on July 10, where Liberty won 71-68.
“She’s doing great,” said Courtney VanderSloot, who spoke with her after the surgery. “The surgery went well and she’s resting. I told her she’s on the way back.”
Liberty (21-4) was dealing with a number of injuries beyond Laney Hamilton heading into Tuesday night’s crucial matchup with the second-ranked Sun (18-6).
Breanna Stewart did not play in Tuesday’s game, but that was more for load-management reasons than any right hamstring concerns, Brondello said.
The absence is part of an effort to adjust her playing time in preparation for the WNBA All-Star game and the 2024 Paris Olympics with the U.S. Women’s National Team.
“Rest is important. I’ve always played her a lot of minutes,” Coach Brondello said. “She’s just a competitor. She wants to play, but sometimes you have to hold her back.”
Backup wing Kayla Thornton and backup centre Nyara Sabally were questionable with neck injuries and back issues but are available.
Sabally wore a back brace while warming up.
She missed 14 games this season due to injury.
She returned on June 11 against the Sky at Barclays Center.
In Laney Hamilton’s absence, rookie Leonie Fiebic has started at small forward, and Thornton has played more minutes than usual over the last few games.
Fiebic will make his fourth consecutive start in Tuesday night’s game.
Backup guard/forward Kennedy Burke will start for the second straight game and second time overall this season in place of Stewart.
This season, the Liberty bench is 10-1 in games without one or more starters.
