Liberty use third-quarter surge to get by Wings, post consecutive 100-point games

The Liberty dispensed with a lackluster first half in devastating fashion Sunday against the Dallas Wings.

The Liberty exploded for 34 third-quarter points, turning a six-point halftime deficit into a 102-93 victory at Barclays Center. The Liberty have posted consecutive 100-point games for the first time in franchise history.

The Liberty’s stars displayed what an offensive powerhouse the team potentially is this season while also showing up on the defensive end of the court.

“We just tweaked some of our defensive coverages in the second half,” head coach Sandy Brondello said. “Sometimes it’s just a little bit of focus, a little bit of togetherness, a little bit of toughness, and we showed that in the third quarter. And that’s great to have. Getting down, we have to be able to grind games out.”

Coming off a career-high 37 points Friday in Atlanta, Sabrina Ionsecu managed just three points in the first half Sunday. She poured in 19 points over the final two quarters, pacing her team when it needed a spark. Breanna Stewart struck for a game-high 32 points, all without benefit of a single free-throw attempt.

The Liberty doubled the Dream’s third-quarter point total in moving to 6-2 for the season. Dallas fell to 5-4.

“For us, that third quarter is probably the closest we’re gonna get to our best basketball and we understand the adjustments we made and how we played defensively and offensively,” Ionescu said. “That’s something that we’re going to take moving forward.”

While the Liberty’s Big 3 of Ionescu, Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot confirmed that the squad has enough talent to find its game late and still pull out a win, the Liberty were able to also lean on some of their depth players to build momentum when it seemed like nothing was working.

Marine Johannès sunk two timely 3-pointers at the end of the second quarter, creating much-needed momentum.

The Liberty’s transition game propelled them forward in the third, and Stewart was able to find her spots on nearly every possession. Stewart created space and separation for herself while also blocking three shots.

“As this group has come together, we’re having an awareness of where one another is, the spots,” Stewart said. “People are helping me get to the right positions, and today the shots went in.”

Ionescu’s college teammate at Oregon and Nyara Sabally’s sister, Satou Sabally, had a fiery start for Dallas — perhaps fueled by some family competition. She ended the game with 17 points and two assists while sharing the WNBA court with her sister for the first time.

“It will mean a lot,” Nyara said Friday ahead of the matchup. “It’s going to be very exciting to share the court with her, I feel like that’s been something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”