Liberty fall to Wings for third straight loss
Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu controls the ball against the Fever during the second half of an WNBA game at Barclays Center on May 13. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The season started with some impressive home work, a victory at Barclays Center over the formidable Connecticut Sun. Since then, the Liberty haven’t won.
The Dallas Wings were in Brooklyn Sunday. They took control in the second half when Arike Ogunbowale went off for 18 of her 21 points in an 81-71 win — the Liberty’s third straight loss.
“We’re nowhere near where we need to be if we want to be one of the best teams in the league,” said Sandy Brondello, their first-year coach. “You have to go through the mud a little bit. It happens in a season, and we’re in it now. But I’m confident we’ll get out of it. … I think it’s more about just getting chemistry.”
Sabrina Ionescu wasn’t sweating over 1-0 turning into 1-3, with a rematch against the Sun coming Tuesday night at Barclays.
“You don’t really overreact to it,” Ionescu said after contributing 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. “… I think the beauty of it is these games come quick.”
The Liberty made 18 turnovers, leading to 23 points. But they trailed by just four in the third. Ogunbowale then buried a couple of threes in an 8-2 burst. The Liberty were down 62-52.
“Arike was smart with the basketball,” Wings coach and former Liberty standout Vickie Johnson said.
Natasha Howard, who rebounded from a 1-for-15 shooting nightmare in Friday night’s defeat against Indiana to go 6-for-12 and score 14, cut it to 68-63 when she hit a three with 2:56 gone in the fourth.
But Marina Mabrey countered with a three for Dallas (2-1), and Ogunbowale followed with a 20-footer. The Wings’ lead was 10 again, at 73-63. It shrunk to seven. Then Ogunbowale scored four more — 77-66.
“We had too many mental breakdowns, which is unacceptable,” Brondello said.
Help is coming. Brondello expects veteran guard/forward Rebecca Allen to be available off the bench for the Connecticut game and bring scoring, defense and rebounding.
Allen is going through the WNBA’s return-to-play health protocols before beginning her seventh year here. The 6-2 Australian returned to the U.S. Saturday night after playing for a team in Spain. She doesn’t get to catch a physical or mental break, going from one season to the next.
“I’ve done it quite a lot,” Allen said. “… I’m so happy to be back here that it helps with the adjusting to something new again.”
Notes & quotes: The Liberty’s DiDi Richards didn’t play after aggravating a right hamstring injury against Indiana. “We don’t need to rush her back,” Brondello said. “We need to make sure she’s totally ready to come back.”
