Less than a month ago, the Liberty were 11-11, straddling a line that had them on the precipice of missing the playoffs in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history.
It’s amazing what nine games can do.
Even more amazing, is what the Liberty have done in those nine contests, clinching a WNBA playoff berth while winning every game, by an average of 11.5 points. Their most impressive feat came Tuesday night, when the Liberty knocked off Indiana, the top team in the Eastern Conference, 78-57, to now sit a half-game out of the top spot in the conference.
“We are [winning convincingly]. It’s great to see it all come together, but there’s a lot of work still ahead of us,” Liberty coach Anne Donovan said. “We’re very excited, but the good thing about this group is we don’t get too high and we don’t get too low.”
“When we look back at the team we were in the first 10 or 11 games of the season, we had great individual talent, but we just didn’t put it together. It took awhile for the chemistry to come along. In that sense, we were a much different team back then.”
The Liberty will look to extend their win streak at the Garden tonight (7:30) against the dregs of the WNBA, the Tulsa Shock (5-27), who have lost five in a row and 12 of the past 13. The Liberty won their lone meeting of the season, at Tulsa, 92-78. The Liberty will travel to play at Washington tomorrow night before finishing their regular season at home against Connecticut on Sunday.
“We have a lot of veterans that have been through this before and know what the last week of the regular season is about,” Donovan said. “I don’t expect a letdown [tonight] and I hope I’m not wrong.”
Looking like a serious contender to win their first WNBA title, the Liberty have a chance to secure homecourt advantage in the Eastern Conference. With an 11-4 record at the Garden this season, that may make all the difference.
“We’d love to have homecourt advantage with the No. 1 or No. 2 seeds, to play at Madison Square Garden and have our people here,” Donovan said. “Your team’s playing well and they’re all jacked up and fired up. Our crowd has been great. They’ve been with us every game, bringing more and more energy into the building.”