Latest news with #MarineJohannès
New York Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Liberty's dangerous depth that can ‘make a huge difference' on display in rout of Sun
We've got you covered on the Liberty beat Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA. tRY IT NOW The Liberty's dominant 100-52 win Sunday was a total team effort, and it allowed New York to show off its dangerous depth. The Liberty's bench got extended playing time in the lopsided game. Advertisement With that, New York's reserves managed to outscore the Sun's starters 35-31. Isabelle Harrison played her best game in a Liberty uniform, recording nine points, six rebounds and three steals in close to 17 minutes. Marine Johannès added eight points and six assists. 'Our bench did a great job of coming in today,' Natasha Cloud said. 'When you're talking about what is going to make us such a scary and deep team going down into playoffs and potentially finals is how deep our bench is and how versatile we are and that's going to make a huge difference.' Advertisement Marine Johannès had eight points and six assists off the bench for the Liberty in Sunday's thrashing of Connecticut. Getty Images 'Staying ready' has become a sports cliché. But it's one thing to say it and another to actually embody it. Advertisement It's not always easy to put ego aside, but sacrifice and selfless play are pillars of this team's culture. 'Everyone understands the importance of when you go out there and you get your minute — whether it's one, whether it's 20 — you got to go out there and make a positive impact for this team,' Sabrina Ionescu said. 'If you do, you're going to continue to help us win games. … And I think you're able to see a team that is playing for one another out there and that's what I'm most proud of.' Kennedy Burke scored seven points off the bench for the Liberty on Sunday. Getty Images The Liberty's bench, led by Kennedy Burke, has been a reliable bunch. Advertisement They currently lead the WNBA with a net rating of 6.1 through seven games. Cloud and Breanna Stewart each finished plus-44, which is a franchise record. The impressive plus-minus mark was also the fifth-highest regular-season mark in league history. Four of the five starters finished plus-40 or better. And Johannès led that category among reserves, finishing plus-22. Advertisement Sun associate head coach Roneeka Hodges is the latest former Liberty staffer to receive her 2024 championship ring. 'I'm excited,' Hodges said before the game. 'It was a wonderful three years that I spent here and it was capped off with the icing on top, with a championship.' Hodges spent the past three seasons as an assistant on Sandy Brondello's staff. The Sun promoted her from assistant to associate head coach after Connecticut picked up its first win of the season Friday. Advertisement After the Yankees lost in last year's World Series and the Knicks fell in the Eastern Conference finals Saturday, the Liberty — and perhaps Gotham FC, too — might once again be New York's only shots at championships this year. Asked at the end of her scrum about being the city's only hope for a championship, Cloud said, '[The Liberty] won last year, I've been seeing a lot of tweets talking about we haven't won a championship since 2011, I know it's not my champions, but I just feel like there needs to be respect here, so Liberty f—ing biberty.'
New York Post
29-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Liberty's Marine Johannes busts out with ‘ridiculous' game after slow start to season
We've got you covered on the Liberty beat Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA. tRY IT NOW In the second quarter, with the Liberty holding a comfortable 32-13 lead over the Valkyries, Marine Johannès decided to finally let it fly. Dribbling on the Liberty logo, she waited for a screen from Isabelle Harrison. Cutting around it, she found no Golden State player to challenge her. With the open space, Johannès leaped off her right foot for a highlight-worthy, one-legged runner 3. A minute later, she rolled over another screen from Harrison for a pullup 3-pointer. The 30-year-old from France then went on to swish a rainbow shot over 6-foot-2 rookie Janelle Salaun, who she has played with on the French women's national basketball team. Twelve of Johannès' 18 points were scored in that second quarter for what was her biggest contribution yet this season in the Liberty's 95-67 win over Golden State at Barclays Center. Johannès only shot from beyond the arc, going 6-for-11 across 22 minutes. 'Some of those, I felt like the defender was right in her face,' Breanna Stewart said of Johannès after the win. 'I know that right-handed runner was comin'! I was like she's gonna shoot that.' 3 Marine Johannès hits a one-legged 3-pointer during the Liberty's blowout win over the Valkyries. Heather Khalifa for New York Post 'She's ridiculous,' Sandy Brondello added. In her previous three games, the fourth-year guard had not scored more than six points or taken more than five shots in a game. On Tuesday, she felt something different and decided to change her tune. 'I was too passive in the last game,' Johannès said. 'Talking with [teammate] Izzy [Harrison], I have to stay aggressive. I think I have to keep going. It's never easy. Every game is different. So, just my mentality [is] keep playing with confidence.' 3 Marine Johannès, who scored 18 points on six 3-pointers, shoots a trey during the Liberty's win over the Valkyries. NBAE via Getty Images Johannès explained she spoke with Harrison at practice on Monday and again on game day about how she wanted screens from her when they had time on the court together. They were clicking on Tuesday. 'For Marine, she was just finding her rhythm, especially at home, she has that confidence knowing that one falls in, next one goes in, fans are getting behind her, players too. We are happy to see her shooting with confidence,' Stewart said. The fourth-place finisher for 2023's Sixth Player of the Year also tallied four steals, two rebounds, one assist and one block on the night while leading the Liberty bench in points. Covering the Liberty like never before Sign up for Madeline Kenney's Inside the Liberty, a weekly Sports+ newsletter. Thank you Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Enjoy this Post Sports+ exclusive newsletter! Check out more newsletters They collectively scored 37, which is an output the Liberty were looking to set themselves up for in the offseason. 'Our bench and our depth is gonna be what kind of separates us from anyone else,' Stewart said. 'The ability to go this deep and know that there is just gonna be consistency in everything that we do is really important. Happy that everyone is coming in with confidence all the time, mistake or not, next play up like they were talking about. It's really important because it's a collective unit.' Johannès has had on-again, off-again tenure with the Liberty, playing for New York in 2019, 2022, and 2023. 3 Marine Johannès (second from left) shares a laugh on the bench with Sabrina Ionescu (left), Natasha Cloud (second from right) and Breanna Stewart (right) during the Liberty's win over the Valkyries. Getty Images She was a fan favorite and key depth piece in the 2023 Finals, which made many disappointed when she did not return in 2024 to focus on playing for France in the Paris Olympics. After general manager Jonathan Kolb completed a trade for Natasha Cloud, the team announced Johannès' re-signing on March 21. She has since participated in her first full training camp and has taken the first step to finding more consistency off the Liberty bench moving forward. 'I'm so happy for her,' Sabrina Ionescu said. 'Any given night it can happen and I think her ability to just continue to stick with it knowing we want her to shoot shots, we want her to be confident. She missed the first and she just continued to shoot and got really hot, and that's what Marine is capable of doing.'
New York Post
02-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Marine Johannes ‘excited' to return for Liberty as key depth piece
Marine Johannès is back where she always planned to be. The Liberty fan favorite has returned for the fourth season of what has been an on-again, off-again tenure with the team. After emerging as a significant, highly GIF-able contributor as the Liberty matured into a Finals team in 2023, Johannès sat out the 2024 WNBA season to focus on playing for host France in the Olympics. Then the offseason progressed, and for months, the 30-year-old combo guard remained unsigned. It wasn't until March 21, after Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb had completed a trade for guard Natasha Cloud, that the team announced Johannès had re-signed.
