In terms of upsets, the Sun’s win over the Liberty was a big one. They were huge underdogs heading into their semifinal round series, and not just because 9,442 rabid fans awaited them in hostile territory. They lost all four regular season meetings against their rivals, if nothing else a reflection of their relative lack of talent. And yet, when opening tip came, they proved all too willing and able to rise to the challenge. What they lacked in collective skill set, they more than made up for in grit and determination.
Indeed, the Sun won with stellar defense. They were locked in from the get-go and managed to sustain their intensity until the final buzzer. The numbers tell the story; they limited the supercharged Liberty to 63 points on 33.8% shooting from the field, a whopping 26 markers and 12 and two-tenths percentage points below second-running regular season norms. And to argue that it was far from easy to do would be an understatement; the black and green had former Most Valuable Player awardees Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones on tap and backstopped by All-Stars Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot.
How involved were the Sun? When the battlesmoke cleared, they came out on top in just about every other statistical category as well. They had more rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks — clear indications of their superior effort. And they won even though MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas failed to score in double figures. Even as on- and off-court partner DeWanna Bonner remained productive, such notables as Rebecca Allen, Tiffany Hayes, and Natisha Hiedeman picked up the slack. Most importantly, they kept an even keel in the midst of pressure from the Liberty, the antagonistic crowd, and, at times, the referees.
To be sure, the Sun know there’s still a lot of work to do before they secure a second straight finals appearance (and third in the last five years). No pushovers, the Liberty are simply too good not to play better — make that much, much better — in Game Two today. That said, they have clearly served notice of their worth. And while quite a few continue to question their capacity to prevail in the semifinal round series, there can be no doubting their confidence in getting the job done.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
