{"id":772086,"date":"2026-07-19T13:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T13:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/772086\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T13:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T13:16:09","slug":"liberty-cannot-afford-to-keep-sinking-after-loss-to-fever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/772086\/","title":{"rendered":"Liberty Cannot Afford to \u2018Keep Sinking\u2019 After Loss to Fever"},"content":{"rendered":"

This New York Liberty season has been the very definition of up and down. After a slow 3-4 start, the Liberty went on an eight-game win streak. Then, they beat the Las Vegas Aces in the Commissioner\u2019s Cup final <\/a>and took down the Minnesota Lynx before dropping four consecutive games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Liberty\u2019s latest loss was a 20-point defeat at the hands of the Indiana Fever<\/a>. Breanna Stewart put up 26 points and 8 rebounds, but the Liberty turned the ball over 17 times, conceded 30 points off those turnovers, and couldn\u2019t slow down Kelsey Mitchell, who finished the game with 33 points on 10-14 shooting from the field and 4-6 from deep. She also shot 13 free throws.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With that loss, the Liberty fell to 13-12 and seventh place in the standings\u2014not where a team that still has its 2024 championship core, including two of this year\u2019s All-Stars, should be. The team is very aware of that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t like where we\u2019re at right now, but we are,\u201d Breanna Stewart said after the loss to the Fever, per a video<\/a> on the Liberty\u2019s YouTube channel. \u201cWe\u2019re there, you know what I mean? And playing with that, realizing that we\u2019re in it. We\u2019re in the trenches, and we can either keep sinking or we can dig ourselves out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Liberty have been on a tough stretch recently. Five of their last six games were against playoff teams, including some of the top teams in the standings. The schedule is not going to ease up either. New York\u2019s next few games are against the Dallas Wings, a team that already handed them two bad losses, Chicago Sky and Los Angeles Sparks teams just as desperate to string together some wins as the Liberty, and a strong Aces squad.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The season is far from over, but if the Liberty keep losing games as they have been, they could quickly find themselves in a hole that\u2019s too deep to dig themselves out of. With a team as stacked with veteran talent as this Liberty roster, it\u2019s not just about making the playoffs. It\u2019s about putting yourself in the best position to go on a deep postseason run. Finishing the regular season with a low playoff seed and no home-court advantage isn\u2019t usually the way to do that.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Things could get ugly quickly for the Liberty, but this is a team led by championship veterans. There\u2019s still a fair chance that they will turn things around.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Injuries are again the story of the season\"Sabrina<\/p>\n

Jun 28, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) waits for play to resume against the Golden State Valkyries in the second quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

The Liberty came into the 2025 season with high expectations. Injuries got in the way. Stewart, Jones, and Ionescu all missed time during the regular season, and Emma Meesseman didn\u2019t even join the team until after EuroBasket. They struggled to build chemistry, finished with a disappointing five seed, and lost their first-round series to the Phoenix Mercury.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Injuries are plaguing the Liberty once again. Stewart and Jones have been healthy, but Ionescu missed the start of the season and has only played in 13 games so far. Moreover, Satou Sabally is out with a concussion after already missing a bunch of time with a cyst earlier in the season, and Leonie Fiebich is dealing with a foot injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But even with Sabally and Fiebich out, the Liberty have a solid rotation. Things just aren\u2019t clicking consistently on either end of the floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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