The Liberty began their quest to repeat as WNBA Commissioner’s Cup champions on Sunday. And the first Cup game was an easy one.
The Libs overwhelmed the Indiana Fever on Sunday, getting a comfortable 104-68 win over a squad that looked a step too slow on the back end of a back-to-back.
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton led the way with 20 points, five assists and two steals while drawing the defensive assignment of Caitlin Clark. The No. 1 overall pick again struggled against Liberty. This time, she started the game 1-for-7 and eventually missed nine of her 10 shots for three points and three turnovers.
Jonquel Jones logged 18 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block while contributing to the team’s overall dominance in the paint. The Libs won the points in the paint battle, 44-32.
The Liberty started the game on an 11-2 run while benefitting from the same transition offense that worked in the previous two matchups. They eventually led, 31-13, after the first quarter and went into halftime up 18. The Liberty returned to the court on the wrong end of a 8-2 run, which induced a Sandy Brondello timeout. Indiana’s NaLyssa Smith accounted for six points (two field goals, one assist) during the run. But the Libs scored nine unanswered points to regain momentum and go up 21 midway through the third.
The Fever trailed by as many as 36 points in the loss, dropping to 1-1 in Commissioner’s Cup play. Kennedy Burke enjoyed extended minutes as Nyara Sabally missed Sunday’s game due to a back injury. She logged season-highs in minutes (24) and points (10) Sunday while finishing +16 in the win.
Her performance was the highlight of the team’s bench unit. Brondello mentioned Friday the unit needed more “experiences” together since four of six reserve players are new arrivals to the team.
The Liberty are now 1-0 in Commissioner’s Cup standings, with the second game set for Tuesday against the Chicago Sky.
Each team will play a total of five Commissioner’s Cup games, one against each of its in-conference rivals. The games are played during the two-week period from June 1-13. Teams will play either three Commissioner’s Cup games at home and two on the road, or two at home and three on the road. The games count in the team’s overall regular-season record.
The team from each conference with the top record in Commissioner’s Cup games will compete for a $500,000 prize pool in the Commissioner’s Cup Championship, which will be played on Tuesday, June 25 at the arena of the team with the best record in Cup play. The Liberty defeated the Las Vegas Aces in last year’s Commissioner’s Cup championship.
