In the second quarter of Thursday’s game against the Sky, Chicago’s Marina Mabry made an awkward pass in the paint that Liberty wing Kayla Thornton caught and passed to Breanna Stewart, who tumbled into the front row of the crowd.
The noise got the Barclays Center crowd — 17,758, the largest in Liberty history — into a frenzy for the first time that night as the Sky built a 13-point first-half lead on their strength in the lane.
Stewart ran the other way, blocked a defender and passed the ball to Leonie Fiebic for a three-pointer.
On the next play, Thornton chased down another poor pass that ultimately led to a Sabrina Ionescu three-pointer to tie the game at 38-38.
The consecutive steals were half of Thornton’s four game-changing plays that were crucial to Liberty’s 91-76 victory.
Hustle is what the Liberty will need to maintain their No. 1 spot in the league in their final two games before the Olympic break – against the Sky again on Saturday and the Sun on Tuesday – especially without starter Betnijah Laney-Hamilton for the second time this season because of a right knee injury.
That opened up new opportunities for Thornton and the other wingers.
She scored 20 points without Laney Hamilton in June and wowed the crowd with her strong defense on Thursday.
“I love it. I love it,” Thornton said of the fans’ cheers. “It keeps me going because it’s such a hard play. It’s a lot of work, so when the crowd is like that, it makes you forget how tired you are and it makes you want to try harder because their energy helps us.”
The 6-foot-1 third-year player finished with 16 points on the night and had two more steals in the fourth quarter to help keep Liberty in the lead and limit the Sky to just two points in transition.
With just under five minutes left in the game, following a Jonquel Jones turnover, Thornton sprinted after Lindsay Allen into the tunnel to thwart a Sky fast break.
She disappeared for a moment to catch her breath, then jogged back onto the court to a standing ovation.
“I was really happy, especially because it was my turnover,” Jones said with a laugh. “She came back and saved me, but that’s the way KT is. She knows her role and she plays to the best of her ability. We want her to play more like that and keep giving it her all.”
Thornton’s final steal late in the game led to some entertaining action with Angel Reese.
Mabry of the Chicago Sky. Michel Farshi/New York Post
Harrison missed a jump shot and Reese picked up the rebound for her 10th jump shot of the game and her 15th consecutive double-double.
But in the process, she fouled Thornton.
Thornton stole the ball from the former Louisiana State University star, drove to the free throw line and erupted in cheers.
The show was a mix of Sky fans shouting out Reece’s record and Liberty enthusiasts praising Thornton’s efforts.
She made both free throws, but Liberty then took a full timeout and replaced its starters with bench players to play the final minutes.
“She’s come off the bench and played great and has been a spark offensively and defensively, especially defensively. I wouldn’t hesitate to play against her,” Fiebich said.
Thorton is part of a wing group with Fiebich and Kennedy Burke tasked with filling the hole created by Lainie Hamilton’s absence, especially in defending the opposing team’s top guard.
Thornton helped limit Chennedy Carter’s scoring, but Carter still finished with 22 points, but was limited on drives in the paint in the second half.
Thornton also did a good job containing Marina Mabry, who made 4 of 5 3-pointers but didn’t have any shooting opportunities in the final quarter.
“She’s a great player, but we let her go. We didn’t scout her,” head coach Sandy Brondello said of Mabry’s adjustments. “You just can’t get under her or let her go and we maintained our size on her. I thought Kayla Thornton did a great job on her, just skin-to-skin and when she turned it on, we just made it hard on her.”
