The Liberty showed what they’re capable of Sunday in the face of elimination by beating the Aces in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals.
Nevertheless, the Liberty will face another survival test Wednesday at Barclays Center when they again try to deny Las Vegas back-to-back titles, trailing 2-1 in the best-of-five series.
The keys remain rebounding, transition defense, communication and outplaying their performance in Sunday’s 87-73 victory, as head coach Sandy Brondello and her players said Tuesday ahead of Game 4.
“You have to be connected if you’re going to play like we did the other day and that’s how we played all season,” Brondello said. “When we’re not, that’s when we’re not at our best. We’re too worried about our man and all that. No, we’re built [with] team defense. … We want to make sure we’re helping out.”
The Liberty outrebounded and outshot the Aces for the first time in the series, and additionally got the best of Las Vegas on fast-break points (12-2).
“We know in order to win, we have to stop them in transition,” backup forward Nyara Sabally said. “So, that was a huge focus of ours. And just to see that we executed that in Game 3 was a big thing that contributed to our win obviously.”
The Liberty will face a different team Wednesday, as the Aces will be playing without guard Chelsea Gray and center Kiah Stokes, according to head coach Becky Hammon.
The pair are out with foot injuries and have yet to receive a diagnosis.
Hammon said their status for Game 5, if necessary, is “questionable.”
“Everybody’s gonna get a crack,” Hammon said of the adjustment her players will have to make. “Everybody is going to get a shot, probably. Everybody has to be ready to go, locked in.”
She kept open the option of using Candace Parker, who underwent surgery in July after a foot fracture, saying, “I have to see if I can suit her.”
“They’re not going to lie down and we’re not going to take it easy,” Brondello said.
Prior to the Finals, the Liberty hadn’t suffered consecutive losses nor faced elimination.
In the first two games, they hit a rough patch but responding by dominating Las Vegas at their home base, where the Aces have yet to win.
“I got pretty angry after the second game only because I knew we were better,” Brondello said. “They were the same. No different. They were mad as hell. Sometimes, you just have to have a pattern interrupt. So we don’t want to finish our season like that and I knew after that we were locked in.”
The only game between the two superteams decided by single digits was their last meeting prior to the start of playoffs in late August. Since then, the Finals have been anything but close, putting both defenses to the test.
“Either team is able to get some separation at some point. There’s these breaking points in the game where one team is gonna go on a run,” Hammon said. “That’s just kind of how it has played out. … When you have really two explosive offenses, it comes down to who makes the less amount of mistakes defensively. And even when you do it right, they still might score and you got to be OK with that.”
Hammon noted the tough task of closing out a series no matter where you’re playing, and Brooklyn gave the Liberty quite the welcome, selling out for the largest crowd in WNBA history (17,143) for Game 3. Wednesday night is expected to be similar.
Additionally, these have been the most watched WNBA Finals through Game 3 in 20 years, the league announced.
“It’s something that doesn’t happen often in the WNBA,” Liberty backup center Stefanie Dolson said. “Good or bad, they were cheering. It was really fun to just be a part of.”
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