New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello pushed her team to be more disruptive following Thursday’s blowout loss at Las Vegas.
Sunday’s 81-66 win at Seattle soundly fulfilled that need.
After racking up a season-best 16 steals against the Storm and surrendering the second-fewest points they’ve allowed in a game this season, the East-leading Liberty will shoot for their sixth win over the past seven games when they host the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday.
New York’s stifling performance came after the Aces outclassed it in Thursday’s showdown between the league’s two acclaimed powerhouses.
The defending champions toyed with the Liberty (11-4), dishing out 32 assists — the most by a WNBA team in a game in 2023 — and dumping the most points any team has had against New York this season en route to a 98-81 victory.
On Sunday, Brondello’s squad cut its opponents’ assists in half (16) and harassed Seattle into a total of 20 turnovers, a combination that led to the second game this season in which the Liberty held an opponent below 70 points.
The Mercury (3-12) hit the road for the first time under interim coach Nikki Blue, who took over after Vanessa Nygaard was fired on June 25.
Phoenix has gone 1-2 under Blue, though Saturday’s 86-76 loss to the Minnesota Lynx saw the Mercury’s persistent turnover struggles hit rock bottom. They committed a season-high 24 turnovers in the defeat.
Brittney Griner paces the Mercury with 19.8 points per game, while Breanna Stewart averages 22.0 points to lead New York’s quintet of double-digit scorers.
The Liberty strolled past visiting Phoenix 89-71 in the teams’ first meeting this season on June 18.
