Shorthanded Liberty Compete Valiantly in WNBA Finals Rematch

On July 30, 2025, the shorthanded New York Liberty faced off against the Minnesota Lynx in a rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals. Despite missing three key players due to injuries, the Liberty competed hard for the full 40 minutes, ultimately falling 100-93.

Sabrina Ionescu led the way for New York, scoring a team-high 31 points while adding 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Ionescu was proud of her team's effort, saying "if there's ever a good loss, this was one of those losses that you can live with." The Liberty point guard praised the team's fight, with Natasha Cloud playing through illness and the squad refusing to give up even when trailing by 15 points.

Head coach Sandy Brondello had been pushing her team to play with more accountability and effort in recent weeks, and the Liberty responded with a much-improved performance compared to their previous game. "We never gave up," Brondello said. "We started making shots. They were making shots, too. We were right there."

The Liberty have dealt with a rash of injuries this season, using about a dozen different starting lineups. But Ionescu believes this game showed the "standard" the team wants to play with every night, regardless of who is available. "With a million reasons why we could have come in here and gone through the motions and made excuses for ourselves, and we didn't," she said.

The Liberty will look to build on this effort as they continue their road trip, heading to Connecticut for games on July 31 and August 2.