Liberty redeem themselves with solid win over Dallas

Sandy Brondello didn’t want to watch the video of what she had seen play out right in front of her. But the Liberty coach did watch it, and if asked, she surely would have given the film a no-star review.

Her team fell into a 30-point pit en route to losing to the young and rebuilding Wings in Dallas a week ago Monday.

“We had no energy,” Brondello said. “We had no fight. We had no togetherness, no toughness.”

They also didn’t have the injured Breanna Stewart and injured reserves Kennedy Burke and Nyara Sabally. Still don’t. And they didn’t have Emma Meesseman yet. The two-time All-Star and 2019 WNBA Finals MVP didn’t officially sign as a free agent until last Friday.

It has been about trying to overcome the absences and remain high up in the seeding race despite a schedule without much rest built into it.

The Liberty had dropped four straight before Sunday’s win at Connecticut in Meesseman’s debut. This shorthanded group got another shot at the Wings Tuesday night at Barclays Center. The Liberty had more energy and strong second-half ball movement and took the rematch 85-76.

“When we move the ball, we always find great shots,” Brondello said. “I thought we were very unselfish when we did move the ball.”

The Liberty happily celebrated afterward by posing for a photo with actors Ben Stiller, John Turturro and Zach Cherry. The team stands second behind Minnesota and is up to 19-10, which breaks down to 10-10 after its 9-0 start. Another rematch against the Wings is coming Friday night in Texas.

Jonquel Jones paced five players in double figures with 15 points, and she added 10 rebounds, making the Liberty a perfect 30-0 when she has posted a regular-season double-double in these last three years.

And Meesseman is a perfect 2-0 after adding 13 points in her Brooklyn debut as a member of the home team. The 6-4 Belgian forward heard “Emma” chants at the end from the announced sellout crowd of 17,306.

“I’ll remember this moment forever,” Meesseman said.

Dallas coach Chris Koclanes sees her being a valuable addition.

“It’s the depth she brings to the team,” he said. “She’s just another smart veteran player that could really put the ball on the move. She’s played with a lot of these players before. She’ll fit in seamlessly.”

Paige Bueckers, the former UConn great and the 2025 top overall pick, delivered 21 points and eight rebounds for the Wings, who dropped to 8-22.

“She seems like a very humble superstar,” Brondello said.

After taking a two-point edge into the intermission, the Liberty increased their lead to 56-47 after Meesseman followed her foul-line jumper with a layup. The lead was 60-53 going to the fourth.

Sabrina Ionescu, who was getting trapped and finished with just nine points, followed Stephanie Talbot’s three with a jumper to give the Liberty a 10-point edge less than two minutes into the final period.

Haley Jones converted a layup for Dallas. But Talbot countered with a layup and then a three from the left corner to make it a 70-57 game.

This other Liberty newcomer had her best game out of her eight since signing, scoring 13.

Slowly getting more and more comfortable playing with these players,” the 6-2 Australian forward said.

Ionescu soon canned four straight free throws for a 15-point advantage. The Wings cut it to 83-76 with 35.2 left but got no closer.

The Liberty had led 24-15 after one quarter and 37-35 after two. They trailed 63-36 at the break in the first Dallas game.

Better start and better finish.

With Jolie Katzen