{"id":637939,"date":"2026-05-12T05:19:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T05:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/637939\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T05:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T05:19:11","slug":"rookie-pauline-astiers-maturity-impressing-liberty-as-she-already-joins-select-wnba-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/637939\/","title":{"rendered":"Rookie Pauline Astier\u2019s \u2018maturity\u2019 impressing Liberty as she already joins select WNBA company"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 Pauline Astier stepped to the free-throw line Sunday with 19.3 seconds left in overtime and a chance to pad the Liberty\u2019s two-point lead.<\/p>\n

\u00a0We\u2019ve got you covered on the Liberty beat\u00a0<\/p>\n

Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA.<\/p>\n

\u00a0tRY IT NOW\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a big moment for any player, let alone a rookie guard who\u2019s playing in only her second WNBA game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just trying to breathe,\u201d Astier told The Post. \u201cI was like, \u2018OK, it\u2019s just more free throws.\u2019 \u2026 I was just trying to be cool.\u201d<\/p>\n

Astier made both free throws on that trip to the line and sank two more later to help the Liberty clinch a 98-93 win against the Washington Mystics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Astier has been with New York for about two weeks, but she\u2019s already impressed the team\u2019s stars with her confidence, poise and fearlessness while stepping in for an injured Sabrina Ionescu.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pauline Astier attempts a shot during the Liberty\u2019s May 10 win. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Jonquel Jones, who watched overtime from the bench, felt Astier\u2019s performance down the stretch was both awe inspiring and anxiety inducing.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was out there splitting double-teams and stuff,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Girl, you gonna make my hair fall out. Just hold the ball.\u2019 But you know she felt comfortable, so at the end of the day, she did what needed to be done and we got the win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Astier built upon a strong debut in Friday\u2019s win against the Connecticut Sun<\/a>, finishing with 18 points on 60 percent shooting, seven assists, five rebounds and two steals in nearly 35 minutes against the Mystics.<\/p>\n

Astier is only the third rookie to put up a stat line like she did Sunday, joining Paige Bueckers and Candace Parker.<\/p>\n

Both those players went on to win Rookie of the Year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pauline Astier drives to the basket during the Liberty\u2019s May 10 win. Imagn Images<\/p>\n

It\u2019s too early to discuss this year\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

But Astier is off to a strong start with her disruptive defense and knack for finishing while going full speed at the basket.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s recorded 11 assists with only two turnovers in her first two games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have a lot of pressure. I\u2019m just here to enjoy with the team,\u201d Astier said. \u201cWe have a high goal and I\u2019m a competitor. I want to win also, so I\u2019m feeling really good in the team, in the system we play, so yeah, I\u2019m just confident and happy to help the team win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones is excited to see her continue to bloom throughout the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe plays with a lot of confidence and a lot of maturity and I\u2019m just very happy that she\u2019s on our team,\u201d Jones said. \u201cI\u2019m super excited to see her just continue to mature and grow in this league and get even more comfortable. \u2026 She\u2019s just doing exceptionally well and I\u2019m happy to have her here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON \u2014 Pauline Astier stepped to the free-throw line Sunday with 19.3 seconds left in overtime and a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637940,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[275459,14400,263938,99,13969,434],"class_list":["post-637939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-astier","tag-jonquel-jones","tag-pauline-astier","tag-sports","tag-the-liberty","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637939","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=637939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}