Liberty 80, Storm 76: Making the mundane momentous

The Liberty summoned their inner marathon runner to pull out a well-earned victory.

“It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon” defines the timeline for greatness, a blanket of comfort when wins don’t seem to be coming in the short-term. As for a basketball season, it helps put things in perspective: things will not be perfect early on; what really matters is the journey, the process, that WNBA teams have to not only endure, but grow to love. 

Of course, basketball is about speed, but what it really requires is 40 minutes of all-you-can effort. Winning a game does not happen in the first minutes, where legs are fresh and lungs alert. It doesn’t even happen in the final seconds, where adrenaline kicks in and hearts race. Winning happens throughout the entire 40-minute performance. 

For some context, a marathon itself is 26.2 miles. It can be broken up mentally by mile, in acts, or whatever way helps a runner to get through it. For some more context, women could finally compete in the Olympic marathon in 1984, and the first woman champion was Joan Benoit. She finished well ahead of her competitors, and ran 22 of the 26.2 miles completely alone. She did not have someone running alongside, in front, or behind her. It was her vs. her. 

Leading up to the race, she needed arthroscopic knee surgery just three months before the Los Angeles Summer Games. Each mile she ran away from the pack, doubts swirled around whether or not she would be able to win the next mile, not to mention win the entire marathon. She proved them wrong. Benoit ran, and ran, and kept on running. She maintained her lead, and showed the world the first ever Olympic women’s marathon champion.

Great performance after great performance. That’s what Benoit showed that summer day, and the symbolism of her crossing the finish line would take years to dissect, but one takeaway is simply “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” and that sustained greatness comes from making the mundane momentous: winning each step as you go throughout your pressure-filled journey. 

The WNBA’s No. 2 leading scorer Breanna Stewart knows all about pressure. Her resume makes you stop and think, “huh, she really knows no limit.” And, you would be right. In high school, Stewie was the Gatorade National Player of the Year, the Gatorade Female Athlete of the Year, and a McDonald’s All-American. Most recently, she was named one of the captains for the WNBA All-Star game, announced a brand-new professional basketball league, she recorded the first ever 43/12/6 game in WNBA history, and became the sixth WNBA player ever to have multiple 40-point performances in a single season.

After Saturday afternoon’s 80-76 win against the Seattle Storm, Stewie had this to say:

“We navigate the pressure by embracing it…It's great to have more eyes on the WNBA. With that comes the pressure to perform, we put on a show every night.”

In the offseason, Stewie left the team she had won two championships, and two WNBA Finals MVPs with to come to the sports media capital of the world. 

She came from a culture of winning, to a culture of, well, not quite that. The Liberty, despite being one of eight original WNBA teams, have not yet won a WNBA Championship. 

As of late, the Liberty are on a three-game win streak, and are seeing key pieces fire on all cylinders. Two of those games were against the Storm, with a win against the Mercury sandwiched in-between. Before that, they had lost to the Aces 98-81, a team who Rebecca Lobo said would be tough to beat during the broadcast for Saturday’s Storm/Liberty showdown. Just last night the Wings edged one out against Las Vegas in Dallas. 

With the Aces now at 16-2, the pressure mounts for the 13-4 Liberty. In their usual fashion, the Liberty won the first quarter, 18-16, but then lost the second and the fourth. Sabrina Ionescu finished the night with 20 points, draining three three’s in the fourth quarter. She finished the night with six total. 

A back-and-forth game in Barclays Center saw the two teams tied at 64 with six minutes to go. The Storm’s usual leading scorer Jewell Loyd rolled her ankle and had to be taken out. Stewie couldn’t make a shot to give the Liberty the lead, but Ionescu scored a three to edge the Storm out with 5:30 to go.

After a Storm timeout, Ionescu drains yet another three. On the next possession, Stewie drained a three with 3:58 to go for 25 points on the night. Nyara Sabally then stole the ball on the other end, and passed it to Courtney Vandersloot for a filay finish layup. 

Hall of Famer Rebecca Lobo noted, “You play for the New York Liberty: as soon as you get possession you start to run.” That’s definitely what Sabally did. 

This Liberty burst climaxed when Sab drained yet another one to make it a 14-4 run with three minutes to go. 

Like anyone would after draining three threes, Ionescu showed the intensity Liberty fans have come to know and love (think Oregon game-winning three type intensity!) and can now see in many members of this superstar roster. 

Then, things got even more crazy. Former New York Liberty guard Sami Whitcomb answered back with a three, and then another, to make it 78-74.

She then floated one up and in to make it a two point game.

Former Liberty All-Star Betnijah Laney tried to get them back on the other end, but lost control. With 23 seconds left to go, the ball went out of bounds on the Storm’s end of the court, and initially, they were given possession. However, Liberty Coach Sandy Brondello challenged the call and won. 

Sabrina takes the ball, and the Storm had one foul to give, so they did. Then, she was fouled again, and was sent to the line with 17 seconds to go, where she sank two shots.  

The Storm missed a three attempt on the other end, and the Liberty came away with a win.

On the effort it took, Ionescu said one of the best lines in a post-game interview: “We stayed together, we had to weather the storm.” Who knows if she meant it intentionally, but it definitely got the point across. The Liberty had to earn this win, it wasn’t a blowout like the 81-66 win they had against the Storm in their last meeting. 

“We have got to find ways to win, whether it's pretty or ugly, as long as we come up with a win that's all that matters,” she continued. 

This desire to win was echoed by Stewie, who said she is “continuing to be aggressive. [And] Obviously knowing that all these games are important.”

Stewie underscored the importance of home wins in particular for confidence. She also said, “It feels really weird to be playing against Seattle…I hope Jewell is okay.”

Stewie was the first player to run over to her former teammate after Loyd went down. Just another example of how it is a marathon, not a sprint.

Doing the little things well, being a good person, and consistently winning is what will help the Liberty win their marathon. For now, these “sprint” wins are giving each player and coach Brondello confidence to trust themselves. 

They play against the Fever in Indiana next week, and Stewie had this to say about the final game before the All-Star break: “One more game. It’s big for the Commissioners Cup.” If the Liberty maintain their #1 status in the East, they will face off against the Aces for the Annual Commissioner’s Cup, a half-way check in and game for the top two contenders. Perhaps, a foreshadowing of the seven-game series later on.