Defcon 1 in Brooklyn: Valkyries Suffocate the High-Flying Liberty in Sabally's Debut
Defcon 1 in Brooklyn: Valkyries Suffocate the High-Flying Liberty in Sabally's Debut
NEW YORK — Someone forgot to tell the Golden State Valkyries that they were supposed to be the polite second-year expansion team.
The New York Liberty entered Thursday night’s contest looking like an offensive juggernaut, averaging a league-best 100 points per game through their first four outings. But when the Valkyries left the floor at Barclays Center, that statistic looked ancient history. Led by a stellar 16-point performance from Gabby Williams and a relentless defensive blueprint, Golden State completely locked down the Liberty in an 87-70 blowout, thoroughly ruining the highly anticipated season debut of New York's newest star, Satou Sabally.
The Defensive Audit
How do you take the most explosive offense in the WNBA and reduce it to a sluggish, 70-point crawl? You play physical, you rotatate perfectly, and you turn the perimeter into a absolute desert.
The Valkyries (3-1) harassed the Liberty (3-2) from the opening tip, holding them to a dismal 6-for-24 (25%) from behind the three-point line. Without any rhythm from deep, New York's offense looked entirely disjointed.
While New York was stuck in the mud, Golden State was a clinic in offensive balance. Gabby Williams spearheaded an attack that saw five different Valkyries land in double figures, proving that depth and ball movement will outshine isolated star power every single day of the week.
Spoiling the Welcome Party
The headlines heading into the game were all focused on Satou Sabally. The prized offseason free-agent acquisition was making her first appearance on a basketball court since suffering a devastating concussion in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals last season with Phoenix.
While the Brooklyn crowd gave her a thunderous, warm ovation during the starting introductions, the fairy-tale return ended right there.
Player/Metric The Hype The Reality
Satou Sabally Prized Free Agent Debut 5 PTS in 16.5 minutes
NY Liberty Offense 100.0 PPG (League Best) 70 PTS (Season Low)
Liberty 3PT Shooting Perimeter Threat 6-of-24 (25%)
To be entirely fair to the Liberty, their roster sheet currently looks like a hospital wing. They were playing without superstar guard Sabrina Ionescu (still recovering from a preseason foot injury) and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (out for personal reasons). Add in the fact that Leonie Fiebich and Raquel Carrera are still finishing up their overseas club commitments in Spain, and New York was essentially fighting with one hand tied behind its back.
Wire-to-Wire Authority
Breanna Stewart fought hard for her 18 points, and Jonquel Jones anchored the inside with 16 of her own, but they received virtually no perimeter help.
Golden State jumped out to a commanding 18-9 lead just six minutes into the first quarter and never looked back. They carried an eight-point lead into the locker room at halftime, blew the game wide open to lead 63-46 by the end of the third, and casually cruised through a fourth quarter where New York never once posed a threat.
What's Next?
The Valkyries have no time to celebrate this signature road win. They immediately fly out to face Indiana on Friday night to finish off a brutal back-to-back sequence.
Meanwhile, the Liberty have a few days to regroup, get Sabally more integrated into the system, and pray for some medical reinforcements before they host the dangerous Dallas Wings on Sunday. If they don't find some perimeter shooting before then, it's going to be another long night in Brooklyn.
