The New York Liberty may have fallen to the lowly Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, 94-88, but it may have done nothing to deter their playoff push. With a 26-6 record, the Liberty still have the best record in the WNBA, while the Cameron Brink-less Sparks, at 7-24, remain at the bottom of the standings. However, the Liberty still could have used the services of Jonquel Jones, who logged a DNP because of a non-COVID illness.
This Jones status update was shared by the LibertyLead account on X, formerly Twitter.
Liberty DNP
Despite the loss and Jonquel Jones’ DNP, Liberty stars Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu put up 32 and 18 points, respectively. Meanwhile, Nyara Sabally had a double-double of 14 points and ten rebounds, while Courtney Vandersloot grabbed 13 rebounds.
On the other hand, the Sparks received a lift from rookie Rickea Jackson, who scored 19 points, and Dearica Hamby, who paced the team with 21.
In 31 games with the Liberty this season, Jonquel Jones averaged 14.9 points and 9.3 rebounds, which could have helped lift the Liberty over the Sparks. Her teammates’ valiant efforts should have been enough to keep the Sparks at bay, but sometimes the ball just doesn’t roll your way and you still end up on the losing end.
Clearly though, the Liberty should remain on top of the standings until the playoffs start, when they look to avenge 3-1 their defeat to the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals last season. Moreover, this year may be the Liberty’s best chance to win the chip, since the Aces don’t seem as dominant as last season, sputtering to an 18-12 record.
Still, one can never underestimate champions, and they will still have to contend with A’ja Wilson, the league’s best player, and the rest of the Aces on their way to the trophy. The Liberty will need to play high-level basketball throughout the postseason while hoping that fatigue from back-to-back deep runs catches up to the Aces if they ever meet.
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The Sparks’ outlook
Meanwhile, the Sparks continue to rebuild while rookie sensation Cameron Brink recovers from an ACL injury that sidelined her for the rest of the season. The Sparks’ No. 2 overall pick wasn’t the team’s primary scoring threat, averaging only 7.5 points on 39.8% shooting, but she had anchored their defense, blocking 2.3 shots per game and notching 1.1 steals.
It might take some time for LA to catch up to teams like the Aces or the Liberty, but players like Brink and Rickea Jackson should help them get back to their winning ways sooner or later.
