{"id":740491,"date":"2026-07-03T08:05:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T08:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/740491\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T08:05:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T08:05:16","slug":"betnijah-laney-hamilton-benched-in-latest-liberty-challenge-since-injury-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/740491\/","title":{"rendered":"Betnijah Laney-Hamilton benched in latest Liberty challenge since injury return"},"content":{"rendered":"

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton watched the Liberty win Tuesday\u2019s Commissioner\u2019s Cup championship from the bench.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She celebrated with her teammates by dancing and indulging in the champagne-soaked party.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime you win a championship and are able to accomplish something, it\u2019s a great thing, great for us, great for the community, for our fanbase, for our organization,\u201d Laney-Hamilton said after practice Thursday. \u201cIt was something that was really special and not only was it the championship, but it was also for a great cause and so I think anytime we\u2019re able to accomplish something like that, it\u2019s just great all around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tuesday was the second time in 10 days Laney-Hamilton suited up for the game only to sit on the bench.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Afterwards, coach Chris DeMarco said Laney-Hamilton was \u201chealthy,\u201d but explained her benching as the result of not knowing what the Aces were going to do with A\u2019ja Wilson out with a foot injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (44) controls the ball against Chelsea Gray (12) during the third quarter of the Liberty\u2019s win over the Aces. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tightened up the rotation a little bit tonight,\u201d DeMarco said after the 93-85 win<\/a>. \u201cBut she\u2019s still gonna be a part of this [group] going forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Asked Thursday if she had discussed DeMarco\u2019s rotation plans ahead of the championship game, Laney-Hamilton subtly shook her head.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Laney-Hamilton is in the midst of one of the her most challenging seasons of her career<\/a>. She missed all of last season rehabbing from knee surgery. She entered this year the healthiest she had been for quite some time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But this season hasn\u2019t been easy. Her role has varied. She went from being a starter to coming off the bench. She missed time for personal reasons early on and then again after having an injection in her surgically repaired knee.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before the season, Laney-Hamilton signed a one-year, $400,000 deal to return to the Liberty this season. She\u2019s hoping to play her way into a bigger payday come next offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton shots a jumper during the Liberty\u2019s win over the Aces. Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

In 14 games (five starts), she\u2019s averaging 5.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists \u2014 her lowest totals marks since 2018.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Laney-Hamilton is a foundational player to the Liberty. She\u2019s given them so much. During the 2024 WNBA Finals, she told Ros Gold-Onwude that she was playing \u201ctil the wheels fall off.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She pushed through and helped the Liberty capture a title. Her presence and leadership were missed last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton looks on during the second half of the Liberty\u2019s win over the Mystics on June 14, 2026 at Barclays Center. Getty Images<\/p>\n

This year, she\u2019s being challenged in other ways<\/a>. She\u2019s continuing, though, to find ways to show up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After practice, Laney-Hamilton showed appreciation to her fans who continue to support her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJust thank you, you know,\u201d she started to say. \u201cThank you for the support, thank you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Laney-Hamilton wanted to say more, but her emotions overcame her.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve has a chance to make history Friday.<\/p>\n

Reeve tied Mike Thibault\u2019s WNBA record for career coaching wins earlier this week when Minnesota Lynx beat the Dallas Wings. It was her 379th regular-season win in 17 seasons with the Lynx.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCovering the Liberty like never before\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Madeline Kenney’s Inside the Liberty, a weekly Sports+ newsletter.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Reeve\u2019s next victory will make her the winningest coach in WNBA history. Her next opportunity is against the Liberty, a team she knows well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Marine Johann\u00e8s missed Thursday\u2019s practice with an illness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect her to play tomorrow\u201d against the Lynx, DeMarco said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Betnijah Laney-Hamilton watched the Liberty win Tuesday\u2019s Commissioner\u2019s Cup championship from the bench.\u00a0 She celebrated with her teammates…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":740492,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[118209,436,99,434],"class_list":["post-740491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-betnijah-laney-hamilton","tag-new-york-liberty","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740491","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=740491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740492"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}