With a three-game losing streak looming over the Liberty at Barclays Center, the team powered through with a fourth-quarter run that eventually led to the fifth win of the season.
After being down five with less than eight minutes remaining, the Liberty went on a 9-0 run en route to a 81-78 victory over the Phoenix Mercury.
Despite the run by Sandy Brondello’s squad, but Kahleah Copper and the Mercury fought back to regain the lead in the final minutes. But Copper, who had five points in the final five minutes of regulation, had her pass stolen by Courtney Vandersloot, who drew a foul at the other end.
Vandersloot split her attempts, tying the game at 74 with 1:54 left in regulation.
Then, Phoenix forward Natasha Mack fouled Jonquel Jones on a turnaround jumper, which led to two made free throws to regain the lead with 1:09 remaining. Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts leaned on Copper again down the stretch but she came up empty on two possessions: a missed layup with 54 seconds remaining and a turnover with 25 seconds left on the clock.
Mercury guard Natasha Cloud then fouled Sabrina Ionescu, which essentially led to two made free throws that extended the lead to six that iced the game.
The clutch plays got the Libs back in the win column after a short two-game losing streak.
Ionescu led the way with 22 points, nine assists and six rebounds. Jones logged 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in the win.
The back-and-forth final period ensued after neither team were able to go on a momentum-shifting run following halftime, but the Mercury took the lead in the final moments of the third. Copper, who earned Western Conference Play of the Week honors on Tuesday, had made two layups down the stretch that put her team up one.
The Liberty quickly regained the lead after Vandersloot dashed across the court and scored a layup with 23.1 seconds remaining in the third.
The Mercury quickly jumped to a five-point in the fourth lead following two Diana Taurasi treys. Then with 6:25 remaining, Jones sealed Morgan Bertsch in the paint and converted a traditional three-point play to tie the game.
Jones’ play was huge, considering the star center had issues staying in rhythm due to foul trouble in previous games.
The Libs started the game with better spacing as a result of Jones being engaged from the start. Jones had struggled to get into a rhythm in Saturday’s loss to the Lynx due to foul trouble but returned to form Wednesday. The Libs got off to a double-digit lead driven by two Jones treys and six overall by the team.
The Libs ended the first quarter strong after Ionescu hit a three-pointer to score her 10th point in the period. She followed up on the next possession with a sweet no-look pass that led to a Breanna Stewart layup on the break, which helped the team go up 13 to end the period.
However, the team’s awkward trend of second-quarter droughts continued Wednesday, with the team scoring just three points midway through the period. They eventually scored 14 in the period, just three more points they scored in the second during last Thursday’s loss to the Chicago Sky. The team scored nine in that quarter in a win against the Storm in May 20.
The Mercury eventually won the quarter, 24-14, after two treys by Natasha Cloud. And just like that, the Mercury were down by three at the half.
But the Mercury eventually suffered their second loss in as many days. They’ll be back in action against Friday against the Minnesota Lynx. The Libs will host the Washington Mystics Friday.
Copper finished with a team-high 20 points and nine boards. Cloud and Taurasi registered 19 and 14 points, respectively.
