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Back in the winners circle. It almost went sideways at the very end, but the New York Liberty did just enough to hang on and beat <\/a>the Connecticut Sun on Monday night. The champs have been road warriors all month, but have gotten some much needed days off to rest at home.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The opponent tonight is still within playoff range, but time is running out. The Washington Mystics have managed to exceed expectations this year, but it may not end with a playoff appearance. Their losing streak extended to four after losing <\/a>at home to the Seattle Storm on Sunday afternoon on a Nneka Ogwumike buzzer beater. They\u2019ve been off for the past few days.<\/p>\n Where to follow the game<\/p>\n MY9 on TV. Liberty Live and FOX Local on streaming. League Pass for the out-of-towners. Tip after 7 PM EST.<\/p>\n Injuries<\/p>\n Natasha Cloud missed Monday\u2019s game with a nose injury. We found out after the game that she has a slight nose fracture, but is expected to play tonight. Isabelle Harrison is working her way back from a concussion. We\u2019ll see if she\u2019s back tonight as well. Nyara Sabally is out.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Jacy Sheldon is out with an ankle injury. Georgia Amoore is continuing to recover from an ACL tear.<\/p>\n The game<\/p>\n New York won the first <\/a>and second <\/a>meetings.<\/p>\n Welcome back, Breanna Stewart! Stewie made her long awaited return after being out of action for a month with a knee bruise. What stood out the most was the drives to the rim throughout the night. When the Liberty get in trouble, they often settle for jumpers and become stagnant. With Stewart out there, they have more downhill juice and that in turn gets them to the free throw line, which has the added benefit of allowing them to set their defense going the other way. Chances are she\u2019ll be on a minutes restriction again tonight as she gradually works her way back to tip-top form. Even at less than peak capacity, Stewart\u2019s presence gives the Liberty a much needed boost in morale and another great player that can lessen the workload of her teammates.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Another day in which the Liberty\u2019s rebounding weaknesses will be put to the test. Washington is third in the W in rebound rate, led by the All-WNBA rookie team nominee and birthday girl<\/a>, Kiki Iriafen. Going into the year, we thought Iriafen would play behind last year\u2019s first round pick, Aaliyah Edwards. However, Iriafen flipped the script and got off to an incredible start this season and never let up. She\u2019s fifth in the league in double doubles and was named an All-Star. Iriafen is a force on the glass and someone that will require plenty of focus and attention from the Liberty.<\/p>\n That\u2019ll start with Jonquel Jones. JJ has spoken about the group needing to be better on the glass, including herself in that as well. When she gets a double-double, it guarantees a Liberty victory. In her only full game against the Mystics, she grabbed a Liberty career high of 18 rebounds in 30 minutes. While the Liberty (likely) won\u2019t need that number tonight, JJ making her presence felt on the inside against the Mystics duo of Shakira Austin and Stefanie Dolson will go a long way in establishing the tempo of this contest.<\/p>\n Player to watch: Sonia Citron<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a banner rookie season for the former Notre Dame standout. She was named to the All-Star team and is a lock to make the All-WNBA rookie team. She leads the roster in scoring at just over 15 points per game on .471\/.424\/.882 shooting splits. Washington\u2019s draft this year was a grand slam and as Sonia continues to develop, she can help the Mystics get back into championship contention a lot sooner than anticipated.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Sabrina Ionescu made her return to action following a game out due to a foot injury. Her shot wasn\u2019t there, but the playmaking certainly was as she had nine assists in 34 minutes. Her chemistry with Emma Meesseman has continued to blossom and they\u2019re developing more of a rhythm with one another on the court<\/p>\n View Link<\/a><\/p>\n Sab\u2019s decision making has always been solid, and it\u2019s a skill that comes almost naturally. Lucas asked Meesseman about in post on Tuesday, and here\u2019s what she had to say<\/p>\n That knowledge comes with a lot of experience and lessons learned. It\u2019s always fun to watch great players ply their craft and add even more to their toolbelts.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n From the Vault<\/p>\n Ones in the air for Aaliyah<\/p>\n More reading: Bullets Forever<\/a>,\u00a0Swish Appeal<\/a>,\u00a0Breakaway<\/a>,\u00a0SB Nation<\/a>,\u00a0Women\u2019s Basketball Roundup<\/a>,\u00a0The Local W<\/a>,\u00a0New York Daily News<\/a>,\u00a0No Cap Space<\/a>,\u00a0New York Post<\/a>,\u00a0Newsday<\/a>,\u00a0The Athletic<\/a>,\u00a0NY Liberty Fan TV<\/a>,\u00a0Fansided<\/a>,\u00a0Just Women\u2019s Sports,<\/a>\u00a0Winsidr<\/a>,\u00a0Her Hoop Stats<\/a>,\u00a0Yahoo Sports<\/a>,\u00a0ESPN<\/a>,\u00a0CBS Sports<\/a>, and\u00a0The Next<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Back in the winners circle. It almost went sideways at the very end, but the New York Liberty…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116563,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[53534,435,4384,75519,9211,5481,14400,8255,75518,7788,2005,436,4385,16806,3675,4676,648,8254,99,75479,13969,2002,8253,434],"class_list":["post-116562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-aaliyah-edwards","tag-breanna-stewart","tag-connecticut-sun","tag-georgia-amoore","tag-isabelle-harrison","tag-jacy-sheldon","tag-jonquel-jones","tag-kiki-iriafen","tag-league-pass","tag-natasha-cloud","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-nneka-ogwumike","tag-nyara-sabally","tag-sabrina-ionescu","tag-seattle-storm","tag-shakira-austin","tag-sonia-citron","tag-sports","tag-stefanie-dolson","tag-the-liberty","tag-washington","tag-washington-mystics","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}