NY Liberty - Training Camp, Preseason, and Game 1 Recap
Recapping the Liberty's preseason leading up to last night's win against Washington
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also buy Her Hoop Stats gear, such as laptop stickers, mugs, and shirts!
Haven’t subscribed to the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter yet?
Last week, the New York Liberty played their two preseason games against the Chicago Sky and Connecticut Sun. This was a chance for Liberty faithful to get a first look at the team since the 2023 WNBA Finals.
One of New York’s main goals this offseason was to try and bring back as much of their core as possible. They accomplished that goal by ensuring all five of their starters would return.
This past offseason, New York also brought a cadre of younger players, primarily for training camp, to the fold. In the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Liberty selected Ole Miss’ Marquesha Davis, Arizona’s Esmery Martinez, Mississippi State’s Jessika Carter and USC’s Kaitlyn Davis. In a release sent shortly after the draft, the team announced that it was keeping Davis’ rights to compete for a roster spot in 2025. In addition to the draft picks, New York added Okako Adika, Ivana Dojkić, Brianna Fraser, Rita Igbokwe, Stephanie Mawuli, and Jaylyn Sherrod to its training camp roster. The Liberty also signed Zaragoza’s Leonie Fiebich, whose rights they acquired in a 2023 trade involving three other teams.
Many incoming players understood the challenges they faced in making the roster. When asked about goals for training camp, Esmery Martinez got right to the point, “Make the team, baby!”
The Dominican-born prospect became a fan favorite in training camp. New York City has one of the highest concentrations of Dominicans outside of the Caribbean nation. Drafted in the second round, the former Wildcat and Mountaineer immediately recognized the differences between college and the WNBA.
“Here, you have to do everything quick,” Martinez said after week one of camp. “So that's the big challenge for me here, because before I used to think about what I am doing. Now I have to do everything quick.”
For former Maryland Terp Brianna Fraser, some camp participants were her Euroleague opponents months ago. This past season, Fraser played for the Polish KGHM BC Polkowice. Fraser played against Kennedy Burke’s Villeneuve D’Ascq, and Nyara Sabally’s ZVVZ USK Praha. So, seeing some familiar faces puts training camp in a different perspective.
“It’s pretty cool because in basketball you meet so many different people and you're put in different positions,” Fraser said. “[Overseas] we want to compete, we want to win. But then when we get into a similar setting, we are familiar, we know each other from the court and we get to see different points of view. We help each other, because we know how each other plays, because we scouted each other during Euroleague. You also get to learn ‘Okay, she knows that I like to do this, so let me switch it up and do something else,’ and now we get to even see different perspectives of the game as well. We give each other advice, we talk and just play our games.”
Fraser also recognized that she might not play with the Liberty this WNBA season, but could learn and develop from camp.
“I just want to learn,” Fraser said. “We have great players on our team. We have Sloot (Courtney Vandersloot), we have Stewie (Breanna Stewart), we have Sab (Sabrina Ionescu). There are great players that people look up to, and we look up to them as well. So I'm just trying to learn. I know since I've been here, defensively, I think my game has gotten better. Even if I could take this to other places and other teams, I could learn from this and grow from this.”
During camp, one topic of conversation was veteran ownership of the team’s direction.
“When you have some young players coming in, they’re not really sure what to expect when they get to the pros,” Brondello said before the Sky game. “It's a different game, it is still basketball, but it's just a different level of game when you get to the pros, a little bit more plays, a little bit more read and react, and how each individual team wants to play. For us to get what we needed to do, it didn't need to be coaches preaching. We have great leaders on that team and them taking ownership of helping the younger players there, being like a coach on the floor.”
Brondello believes that the players having more voice and influence over the team could be crucial to team culture.
“I think that's where we can go to that next level,” Brondello said. “We worked a lot on culture last year, and some of our team building activities. Now this year, I've given ownership to the players because now it really always is their culture, the values that they set [are] from them. Now, they know each other and now it's how to grow it. And that's part of it, making sure the younger players have the support from the leaders that we have on this team and we have some pretty good ones in.
The team’s preseason opener against Chicago was a chance for head coach Sandy Brondello to match up against Liberty legend, Teresa Weatherspoon.
“It’s great to see T-Spoon back in the league,” Brondello said before the game. “I think that’s great, former players coming back. I’m excited, we had so many battles playing in the WNBA and also playing internationally against each other.”
The game that would play out, however, was not exciting. The energetic Chicago Sky took control of the game early. By halftime, the Sky led 49-28. In the second half, Brondello opted to let the incoming players play most of the remaining minutes. Ultimately, the Sky defeated Liberty in a 101-53 blowout.
Although the result was not expected, there were some bright spots. One of them was that Marquesha Davis and Jaylyn Sherrod, who were selected for the postgame press conference, played in their first WNBA game. Brondello commended Sherrod’s spurt when put in the game. Sherrod managed to steal the ball on back-to-back Sky possessions.
In attendance for Davis’ game was Yolett McPhee-McCuin, her coach at Ole Miss. On having her college coach there to support, Davis said, “I think it feels great, just knowing that she still supports me after Ole Miss.”
New York didn’t have much time to regroup, only having one day of travel between their games at Chicago and Connecticut.
Against Connecticut, Brondello aimed to maintain a similar flow with the rotation used versus Chicago.
“I still want to give everyone an opportunity,” Brondello said before the game. “But we still need to make sure that our returners are playing in some kind of rhythm these first few games, especially until the third quarter, and then in the fourth quarter give everyone an opportunity to put their best foot forward.”
To echo Brondello’s statement, the Liberty played more like a team in rhythm. The shots were falling, and the lanes opened up. Against Chicago, the Liberty had 12 assists for the entire game. Compared to the Sun game, New York had 12 assists in the first half.
The Liberty also had Ivana Dojkić for the contest against Connecticut. A late arrival to camp, Dojkić looked at ease in her first game with New York, scoring eight points in nine minutes. Before the game, Brondello commended what Dojkić could bring to the table, especially without having extended sessions at camp.
“She’s been a professional player for quite some time,” Brondello said. “She has that basketball IQ.”
Before New York, Dojkić spent her rookie year playing for the Seattle Storm. In 23 games, she averaged 6.5 points per game and 2.8 assists while shooting 42% from three. Looking poised on the floor against the Sun, keeping a level head is something Dojkić learned from her time with the Storm.
“I learned during the difficult times, the ups and downs, to always focus, to always stay with the mind on the goal,” Dojkić said after the Liberty returned to Brooklyn.
In the fourth quarter against Connecticut, Brondello opted to play most of the incoming players. Mawuli, Fraser, Sherrod, Martinez, Adika, and Igbokwe would play most of the fourth quarter. After leading by as much as 15, New York saw its lead dwindle off the backs of a vet-heavy Sun comeback.
With 45 seconds left to go in regulation, Connecticut led 79-78. Sherrod displayed her defensive tenacity, getting a steal and breakaway layup to put the Liberty up by one. On the next possession, New York forced a shot clock violation by Connecticut with 12 seconds left. Sherrod was fouled after the inbounds and knocked down two clutch free throws, increasing New York’s late lead to three. On Connecticut’s last play of the game, Sherrod’s presence was felt again, as she forced a miss by Rachel Banham.
After the game, Brondello spoke highly of Sherrod's effort. “She did a great job and she needed a sub there,” Brondello said, “She played so hard. But I just decided to get her in at the end, because she's a game changer like that. I think it's just her athleticism. Banham had a tough three on her, but credit to her [Sherrod]. She's just resilient; she uses her speed and got a really big turnover for us to help us win the game. So happy for her.”
The veteran leadership was visible during the stretch when the incoming players played. They cheered on the squad and, at times, provided instruction. This was a sign of the culture Brondello mentioned earlier, where the veterans took it upon themselves to contribute in whatever capacity. Seeing this take place, one would wonder if that is a win bigger than the final box score.
“Yeah, without a doubt,” Brondello said. “It takes all of the players we have to have a successful team, and everyone has an important role to play. This is a young group. We have a very young team out there, for a lot of them this is their first time playing in the WNBA. So, that's the great leadership that we have, and we're going to need that all year long.”
After the conclusion of the preseason games, Fiebich arrived at training camp. She completed her first practice day at Barclays this past Saturday. Her overseas schedule concluded shortly before her arrival, thus Fiebich had to learn on the fly.
“I got kind of thrown into the cold water a bit, but it was fun,” Fiebich said after Saturday’s practice. “Practicing with some of the best players in the world was just fun. We just need to get to know each other a little bit more and can't wait to get started.”
From May 11 to May 13, the Liberty made the difficult decision of deciding who to waive, ultimately parting ways with Adika, Carter, Fraser, Mawuli, Martinez, Igbokwe, and Sherrod. This meant that Burke, Fiebich, Davis and Dojkić would comprise the roster’s non-returning players.
New York had a season-opening rematch against the Washington Mystics on Tuesday night. Last year, the Mystics defeated the Liberty 80-64, marking New York’s first game with the new look roster. As the Liberty built chemistry throughout the season, they were able to defeat the Mystics twice and then sweep them in the first round of the playoffs.
Last night, the retooled Liberty beat Washington in a down-to-the-wire contest, 85-80. This game had debuts, half-court shots, and more. Reminiscent of her 2021 MVP campaign, Jonquel Jones scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds. In training camp, Jones emphasized her desire to get back to form. Last year, Jones’ training camp and season revolved around recovering from a stress fracture. “Just getting back into myself,” she said. “Playing like myself in the past and not just like last year, being fully healthy and being able to play freely.”
During the offseason, Jones played in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association. Her stellar play led her to garnering International Player of the Year honors. Her play and a stellar season-opening game are a testament to Jones’ process of looking to return to her form.
“You take advantage of the opportunities that you have, go overseas, work on your game, do the things that you can do on the court, and use that time to really work,” Jones said. “So, to come back and see everything kind of come to fruition, it does feel good. And I know I've said this during preseason and training camp, but where I was last year versus where I am this year, I don't take it for granted. I appreciate these moments and I love going out there and playing hard.”
New York now looks to continue its winning ways against the Indiana Fever, whom they play tomorrow. The Fever dropped their season opener to Connecticut, 92-71. Their number one pick in last month’s draft, Caitlin Clark, managed to score 20 points, but also had 10 turnovers. Stay tuned to see how the Liberty fare against a team they beat by 17 in last year’s second game of the season.
Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.