Latest news with #MichelleFarsi
New York Post
2 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Liberty are setting the standard right now — and it's time for New Yorkers to take notice
Michelle Farsi for the NY Post We've got you covered on the Liberty beat Text with Madeline Kenney as she follows the Liberty — she's sharing behind-the-scenes info and insights with Sports+ subscribers. SIGN UP NOW Sure, there is an argument that there isn't as much excitement around basketball right now. The heated Eastern Conference finals series between the Knicks and Pacers has concluded. Advertisement For basketball fans, it's a bummer. For New Yorkers, they're still in recovery mode.
New York Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Post
Liberty torch Sun for record 48-point blowout to tie best start in franchise history
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 opened Commissioner Cup play Sunday torching the Sun, 100-52, for the biggest win in franchise history. Ten days after setting the WNBA record for most 3s made in a game, the Liberty matched it again. 'One more 3' chants broke out with less than two minutes to go after the Liberty drained their record-tying 19 3-pointers earlier in the fourth. But that final trey never came. The Liberty were led by Sabrina Ionescu's four 3-pointers and 18 points. Ten of the 11 Liberty players who attempted a 3 made at least one from behind the arc and five players sank multiple as they finished a staggering 19-for-32 or 59.4 percent. 4 Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu react during the Liberty's win against the Sun on June 1. Michelle Farsi for the NY Post Also, Ionescu is now one 3 away from tying Crystal Robinson for most career 3s in franchise history. It's one thing to beat a team mightily, which the Liberty have already done a few times this season. It's another to totally crush a team's spirit and leave them lifeless. 4 Natasha Cloud celebrates during the Liberty's win against the Sun on June 1. Michelle Farsi for the NY Post 4 Sabrina Ionescu looks to move the ball during the Liberty's win against the Sun on June 1. Michelle Farsi for the NY Post Sunday was a show of dominance that's never been seen before. New York ran Connecticut out of the gym in the first half and never let up. The Liberty opened the game going 7-for-9 from deep and made 12 3s by halftime. 4 Sabrina Ionescu reacts after hitting a shot during the Liberty's win against the Sun on June 1. Michelle Farsi for the NY Post Their 32-point halftime lead was the franchise's second largest lead entering the third quarter ever. In the third quarter, the Liberty outscored the Sun 30-8. Sunday's 48-point margin of victory was the largest in franchise history. The Liberty's previous biggest win was when they beat the Mystics by 43 points on Aug. 13, 1998. With the win, the Liberty's 7-0 start ties the 1997 team for the best start to a season in franchise history. Sunday completed a grueling stretch for the Liberty, who played four games in six days. They'll get a few days of rest before returning to Washington D.C. Thursday to play the Mystics.
New York Post
17-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Liberty rout Aces to put exclamation point on WNBA championship celebration
A flicker of seafoam-green lights washed over the Barclays Center crowd Saturday afternoon as the Liberty gathered over at their bench well before tip-off. The final coronation of the 2024 WNBA champions was set to begin. Team owner Clara Wu Tsai was already wearing a diamond-studded championship ring the size of a silver dollar when she took the microphone at center court. When she and her husband, Joe, bought the Liberty in 2019, she envisioned living a moment like this. 3 Natasha Cloud and Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty celebrate during their home opener against the Las Vegas Aces at Barclays Center on May 17, 2025. Michelle Farsi/New York Post 'This was our first championship,' Tsai told the crowd, 'but it will not be our last.' Saturday was the first step toward doing just that. The Las Vegas Aces — who had to hear the cheers from the ring ceremony from the visitors' locker room — were looking to play spoiler to New York's celebratory day. Instead, the Liberty — 24 hours after the Knicks clinched their first Eastern Conference Finals berth in 25 years — sent the resounding message that New York basketball is back with a 92-78 win. 3 Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty shows off her championship ring. Michelle Farsi/New York Post Saturday's season opener was a dog fight. The Liberty held a comfortable 14-point lead at halftime but saw it dissolve to two by the fourth quarter. But every time the Aces battled their way back into the game, the Liberty found a way to respond. Whether that be the sequence when Natasha Cloud fed Jonquel Jones for a layup late in the third quarter. Or when Cloud ran the length of the floor after tumbling out of bounds with Jewell Loyd only to finish with a layup through contact and make it a three-point play. 3 The New York Liberty's championship banner ceremony during their home opener against the Las Vegas Aces at Barclays Center. Michelle Farsi/New York Post The Aces' last bit of hope was swatted away when Jones blocked A'ja Wilson late in the fourth quarter. Breanna Stewart led the Liberty with 25 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Cloud, in her official Liberty debut, had 22 points, nine assists and six rebounds. And Jones added 17 points and six assists. It was a strong start for the Liberty, who are on the road for the next two games. They play at Chicago on Thursday and at Indiana next Saturday.
New York Post
16-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Aces motivated to ‘ruin' Liberty's ring night after playoff heartbreak
Each of the past two seasons, the Aces opened at home with a pregame championship celebration. On Saturday, though, they'll experience what it's like to be on the opposing end of a banner-and-ring ceremony. Advertisement For Aces coach Becky Hammon, Saturday's celebration of the Liberty will bring 'mixed emotions.' Hammon spent the first eight years of her playing career with the Liberty and went to three WNBA Finals with the team, but never won. Last season, the Liberty captured their first championship and eliminated the Aces in the WNBA semifinals in the process. 'I have a lot of respect for this organization, a lot of respect for Joe and Clara [Tsai], the Liberty just in general. They gave me my first chance,' Hammon said Friday after practice. 'So I keep my personal opinions out of it. We're about winning the game. And I thought last year, I thought they were the best team. The best team gets rings.' Advertisement 4 Becky Hammon coaches during the Aces' playoff game against the Liberty on Oct. 1. Michelle Farsi for the NY Post Saturday won't be Chelsea Gray's first time trying to play spoiler to a team's ring night. The Aces' veteran guard opened the 2018 season at Minnesota. Advertisement Gray, then with the Sparks, helped Los Angeles put a damper on the Lynx's championship ring night by handing the defending champions a season-opening loss. 4 Chelsea Gray tries to drive with the ball during the Aces' playoff game against the Liberty on Oct. 1. Michelle Farsi for the NY Post 4 Sabrina Ionescu reacts after the Liberty won the championship on Oct. 20. Michelle Farsi for the NY Post 'It's kind of a more incentive that the away team always tries to ruin the ring night,' Gray said Friday after practice. 'That's always the key to everything. That's kind of the mantra of the game.' Advertisement Leonie Fiebich joined the Liberty for her first practice of the season on Friday. Whether she'll play in the season opener remains unclear. Fiebich was listed as 'questionable' on the team's availability report Friday evening, and coach Sandy Brondello said the German wing would be a 'game-time decision.' 4 Leonie Fiebich is pictured during the Liberty's game against the Aces on Sept. 29. Michelle Farsi for the NY Post 'We'll see how she responds tomorrow,' Brondello said. 'But I'm hopeful. It'd be nice to have her.' If Fiebich is unavailable, Kennedy Burke may be promoted to the starting lineup. Advertisement Breanna Stewart, who will add a third WNBA championship ring to her collection Saturday, said she recently brought her award collection to New York from Seattle. Stewart hasn't established a dedicated spot for her rings, medals and trophies yet. But she has made it clear to her young daughter that her rings aren't toys. 'I don't want those things to hit the ground and then crack or something,' Stewart said. 'That's a conversation that I don't want to have with her.'
New York Post
28-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Liberty turning page to tall WNBA title defense task: ‘Hardest thing to do'
Training camps opened across the WNBA Sunday, and the Liberty are the team to beat this season. The Libs will be tasked with carrying the weight of their 2024 title with them at every stop over the next six months. Advertisement But the pressure that comes with being the title defenders is a welcomed privilege in Brooklyn. 'The mentality is turning the page,' Breanna Stewart said after Sunday's practice. 'We had a lot of time to celebrate it and now it's building to be better. We talked about being consistently great night in and night out and that starts with building great habits and training camp.' Last year's motivation at training camp was retribution from falling short in the 2023 WNBA Finals. But last October, the Liberty got over the hump and captured the franchise's first championship after besting the Minnesota Lynx in a thrilling five-game series. This time around, the Liberty are honing in on evolving. Advertisement 5 Head Coach Sandy Brondello of the New York Liberty speaks to the media during Day 1 of Training Camp at Barclays Center on April 27, 2025. Michelle Farsi/New York Post 'That's the key thing,' Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. 'It's not about repeating. With this hard thing, we gotta evolve. So that's what we're focused on. How do we do that? Individually, collectively, all of us.' For Sabrina Ionescu, the work started back in November. Her offseason was temporarily disrupted after she had a thumb procedure in December, but she came to camp feeling like she's 'in the best shape of my life right now.' Advertisement Ionescu isn't satisfied with one championship ring. 'It's having that short memory of wanting to be the best and never settling,' Ionescu said. 'And I think everyone on the team understands when we came here … when we kind of suit up especially now and not take any of these days for granted because it's a new season.' Many teams, including the Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, Las Vegas Aces and Atlanta Dream, fortified their rosters during a hectic free agency cycle. 5 Sabrina Ionescu #20 of the New York Liberty works out during Day 1 of Training Camp at Barclays Center. Michelle Farsi/New York Post Advertisement 5 Breanna Stewart #30 of the New York Liberty speaks to media during Day 1 of Training Camp at Barclays Center. Michelle Farsi/New York Post Meanwhile, the Liberty ran it back with their championship core, featuring Stewart, Ionescu, 2024 Finals MVP Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich, while also adding guard Natasha Cloud and forward Isabelle Harrison and welcoming the returns of Marine Johannés and Rebekah Gardner. 'We have a lot of our core back and [are] excited with our new additions,' Stewart said. 'We're just going to be ourselves and really keep it going from there. But we know that the target's on our back.' There are some things that the Liberty will have to figure out before their May 17 season opener. They'll have to find a solution to fill the big void from starting forward Betnijah Laney-Hamilton's absence after she suffered a knee injury earlier this year that will cause her to miss most — if not all — of the 2025 season. 5 Jonquel Jones #35 of the New York Liberty works out during Day 1 of Training Camp at Barclays Center. Michelle Farsi/New York Post 5 Natasha Cloud #9 of the New York Liberty works out during Day 1 of Training Camp at Barclays Center. Michelle Farsi/New York Post The Liberty also need to shore up their bench and continue building chemistry with the newcomers. Advertisement Brondello could tell from that first team meeting that this group already has the right mindset and focus heading into a title defense. By the end of Sunday's practice, Brondello felt the Liberty were much further along than the previous year. 'To go back-to-back, that's the hardest thing to do,' she said. 'We'll make sure we stay true to what we want to accomplish this year and win the day as we say. And I thought it was a great start, and look, I always said you can't bring back the same when you win, and we have a real good, nice freshness about us.'
