When Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello called timeout with 8.8 seconds left in the match, she knew the Women’s National Basketball Association Finals was on the line. The seafoam and white were down a point, and she understood that failure to score in the last possession of yesterday’s set-to would all but invalidate the work they did en route. And so she drew up a play they had run to much success throughout their 2023 campaign. She called for an inbounds set that got Most Valuable Player awardee Breanna Stewart the ball on the right perimeter, and then hoped that their acknowledged leader would find magic once more.
As things turned out, Stewart proved unable to rise to the occasion. Even as she had five inches on series foil Alysha Clark, her attempt to back down on the reigning Sixth Person of The Year proved fruitless. By the time she reached the outer lane from the three-point line, close to six seconds had lapsed. Forced to scramble following a double team, she passed to Betnijah Laney, who, in the absence of a clear shot, then passed to Courtney Vandersloot in the left corner. The contest became history a hurried airball later, and the deafening silence from the 16,851 fans at the Barclays Center underscored the Liberty’s dismay at the final outcome.
In the post-mortem, Brondello doubled down on her assessment of the situation. She said she had Stewart effectively decide the outcome of Game Four — and, ultimately, the best-of-five affair — because she had full trust in the latter. And if she had a do-over, she contended, she would make the same decision. Never mind that the newly minted MVP had gone an atrocious three of 17 from the field to that point. Heck, even the recipient of her faith echoed her confidence in the midst of disappointment.
Indeed, the Liberty had all the chances to prevail, and couldn’t convert in part because of their offensive breakdowns. In larger measure, however, they were simply up against the superior Aces. Despite being hampered by the loss of point gawd Chelsea Gray, last year’s Finals MVP, and fellow starter Kiah Stokes, the red and black showed unshakable championship mettle and established esprit de corps from the get-go. Meanwhile, the hosts highlighted their relative lack of collective experience under pressure with either hurried shots or stagnant distribution that led to forced forays.
Make no mistake. The Liberty did extremely well to hand Gotham its first finals appearance since the turn of the millennium. That said, they still fell short of their stated objective following the most successful offseason recruitment binge in league history. And, as Vandersloot noted before members of the media, there can be no downplaying the hurt they felt. There are no moral victories, no justified reasons, no values excuses. There is only disappointment, even — and, perhaps, especially — in bowing to their betters.
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.
