INDIANAPOLIS — About 3 ½ weeks ago, the Liberty got rocked by the Indiana Fever, who were playing on the second night of a back-to-back.
That 20-point loss was another disappointment amid a frustrating 2-8 stretch of the season.
The Fever defense stifled the Liberty as Caitlin Clark and Co. knocked New York to rock bottom.
Since their July 18 visit to Indianapolis, the Liberty are trending in the right direction.
They are still without Leonie Fiebich (left leg injury) and Satou Sabally (concussion protocol), but they are finding ways to win anyway. Going 7-1 since that Fever defeat, they have put together arguably their most convincing stretch of the season and proven they have what it takes to contend for a championship.
But the surging Liberty (20-13) return here Tuesday to play a similarly hot team in the Fever (20-12), who have won eight of their past 11 games.
Only a half game separates the teams in the congested league standings.
After Monday’s Fever practice, coach Stephanie White acknowledged how only 1 ½ games separate the fourth and eighth seeds.
“Every game is important,” she said. “[The Liberty are] certainly playing well right now and anytime you have players that are in and out of rotation like they’ve had with injury, you got to find your way a little bit first and I think they’ve found their way, so we got to make sure, again, we got to be really disciplined and detailed … and be ready for a tough one.”
The Liberty are coming off a 40-point victory against the Las Vegas Aces, during which Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones rested for the entire fourth quarter.
The Aces were without A’ja Wilson, Jackie Young and Chelsea Gray, who were sidelined (rest) for the team’s second game in less than 24 hours.
Even with that in mind, Stewart believes the Liberty’s dominant win showed signs her team is improving.
“When things get tough, we definitely have been coming together more and just continue to kind of build the confidence just in a vocal way,” Stewart said after the 111-71 win. “[We’re] just not letting one thing dictate the next … Missed shot, whatever happens, we’re still going to play defense and be in our schemes and go back down and get another opportunity to score.”
Ionescu has a lot of confidence in the Liberty, who are 8-8 against teams with above-.500 records. She’s not so much worried about the standings but about capitalizing on New York’s seven games before the World Cup break that begins at the end of the month.
“It’s also understanding how important the wins are,” she said, “and we can’t let easy ones slide.”
