New York

Liberty

Stewart dominated the interior in Thursday’s win over the Sparks. She collected four offensive rebounds and finished with a season-high in total rebounds, while each of her seven made field goals came in the paint. The production led to her third double-double of the season and helped the Liberty end a two-game losing streak. New York will face Seattle on Sunday in its second of eight-straight home games. Fantasy managers should expect Stewart to remain productive.

Ionescu struggled again with her shooting on Thursday, in what has been a rough five-game stretch that has seen her shoot a combined 18-of-69 from the field. But the former first-overall pick’s performance still was an encouraging one — she made 6-of-8 shots in the second half, where she added 17 of her 20 total points. Ionescu was also productive as a passer and rebounder. Her second-half display as a scorer may be something we look back on as a turning point should she sustain the hot hand in the coming games.

After remaining quiet as a scorer for a good chunk of the season, Cloud has found her groove as of late, with her season-high points total on Thursday being her third straight game scoring in double figures. Cloud let the game come to her in the first half before really helping flip the game in the third quarter. In the third, she recorded 11 points to erase a four-point halftime deficit and give the Liberty a 10-point edge going into the fourth. She ultimately finished with 23 points for the game and led the team in assists along the way. She can add to her string of productive games on Sunday against the Storm.

Fiebich is back with the Liberty after representing Germany at FIBA Women’s EuroBasket, and she reclaims her place in the starting lineup immediately. New York will not have a legitimate center in the starting lineup, with Nyara Sabally being bumped to the bench. As a result, they’ll need increased rebounding production from Fiebich, Stewart and Burke.

After shooting 33 percent from the field versus Atlanta, the former first overall pick has now shot a combined 11-of-51 from the field over her last four games. With Jonquel Jones still sidelined and the Liberty having lost four of their last five games, the team desperately needs Ionescu to get back on track as a scorer. She’ll have a chance to break out of the slump on Thursday against the Sparks.

Cloud scored in double figures against the Dream on Sunday for the second game in a row, after being held in single digits in the 11 games prior. Sunday marked the most points the veteran had scored in a game since her debut with the Liberty back on the opening day of the season. Cloud appears to be back on track as a scorer, which is good news for a New York team that has lost four of five games and is without the reigning Finals MVP. The Liberty will need her scoring and playmaking while Jonquel Jones is sidelined.

With Jonquel Jones (ankle) still out and Sabrina Ionescu in the midst of a shooting slump, the scoring burden was on Stewart and she did her best to deliver. The two-time WNBA MVP led the team in field-goal attempts and points, while tallying her eighth straight game of at least 18 points. She also crashed the glass to lead the Liberty in rebounding and made her presence felt on the defensive end with active hands. Stewart is in an ideal spot from a fantasy basketball standpoint, as fantasy managers get to see Stewart heavily used in the offense while the Liberty deal with injuries and play competitive games.

After a less aggressive first half, Cloud upped her energy in the second half, scoring 10 of her 14 points and dishing out five of her seven total assists in the two final quarters. After multiple games of hesitant play, Cloud got downhill much more against the Mercury. Cloud played well in the two-person game with Breanna Stewart, finding Stewart on the move especially during Stewart’s breakout quarter in the third. Cloud still continues to take inefficient shots in the mid-range, something that without shooters in Leonie Fiebich and Jonquel Jones on the floor for New York becomes more of a glaring issue.

After a less involved game against the Valkyries on Wednesday, Sabally bounced back and set a new career scoring high on Friday night with 16 points. She was incredibly efficient, only missing one shot during her minutes of play. She also hauled down the most rebounds for the Liberty with six. Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello instructed Sabally specifically before the game to just post-up strong to create an advantage against the Mercury. Most of Sabally’s work was done in the paint excluding one 14-foot fadeaway jumper that she made with 6:33 left in the third quarter.

Stewart played well individually offensively, but struggled defensively, especially when it came to containing Alyssa Thomas on drives to the basket. She had a monster 10-point third quarter that got the Liberty back into the game with 4:34 left in the third quarter. She scored 14 of her 17 points in the paint making more than half of her shots driving and cutting. On Friday night Stewart reached 21st on the WNBA’s All-Time field goals made list (1,967), passing the legendary Lindsay Whalen.