Liberty’s Storm Preview: Lloyd P. Stewart, Liberty Aims for Consecutive Wins at Home

On the morning of September 6th, the WNBA regular season continues with the Liberty hosting the Storm. The Liberty have maintained their form from last season and currently sit atop the league with a record of 27 wins and 6 losses, while the Storm are fifth in the league with 20 wins and 13 losses. Compared to recent times, the Liberty’s form has dipped somewhat, lacking sufficient stability, especially after an upset loss to the struggling Sparks. Fortunately, they stopped the slide by defeating the Storm in their last game. The Liberty boast strong offensive firepower, averaging 85.9 points per game, placing them among the top in the league. Both offensively and defensively, the Liberty perform well, holding their average points allowed to 75.8, making them the third-best team in terms of fewest points conceded. Balanced offense and defense are the main reasons for the Liberty’s position at the top of the league. Furthermore, the Liberty also perform well in rebounding, averaging 36 rebounds per game, ranking third in the league. Their field goal percentage is 44.8%, and their free throw percentage is 82.4%, both figures leading the league, maintaining good offensive efficiency. In addition, the Liberty do very well in foul control, averaging only 15.2 fouls per game, the least in the league. Last season, the Liberty entered the playoffs as the second seed with a record of 32 wins and 18 losses, sweeping the Mystics 2-0 in the first round of the playoffs, defeating the Sun 3-1 in the semi-finals to reach the finals, but unfortunately lost 1-3 to the Aces and finished as runners-up. During the off-season, the Liberty retained their starting lineup of five superstars from last season, ensuring the team remains highly competitive. The team brought in Rebecca Gardner from the Sky and Ivana Dozic from the Storm during the off-season. So far this season, four players on the Liberty are averaging double-digit points, including Stewart with 20.6 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game, Ionescu with 19.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists, Jones with 14.3 points, and Lani with 12 points. Against the struggling Sparks, the Liberty lost 88-94 away, despite Stewart scoring 32 points and 6 rebounds, leaving her efforts in vain. Ionescu also scored 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, and Sabally had 14 points and 10 rebounds, but only three players scored in double digits, while the Sparks had a collective effort. The Storm have recently lost more than they’ve won, with 2 wins and 3 losses in their last 5 games, indicating a decline in form. Fortunately, they defeated the Sun in their last game to avoid a third consecutive defeat. The Storm average 83.2 points per game, ranking fifth in the league, and allow 78.8 points per game, the fourth-fewest in the league. Overall, the Storm maintain a relatively balanced offense and defense. Particularly on defense, the Storm exert significant pressure on opponents, averaging 9.5 steals per game, and they also do well in rebounding, averaging 34.8 rebounds per game, ranking fourth in the league. However, their perimeter offense is poor, averaging only 5.9 made three-pointers per game with a three-point shooting percentage of just 30.7%, ranking near the bottom of the league. The Storm’s performance has improved significantly compared to last season. Last season, they had a poor record of 11 wins and 29 losses, ranking second-to-last and missing out on the playoffs. During the off-season, the Storm brought in two major reinforcements, the first being All-Star Ogwumike, and the second being former Mercury star Diggins-Smith. Due to Stewart’s departure last season, the team’s performance was poor. The moves in the off-season indicate that the Storm aim to make a statement in the new season. The two newcomers, along with number one pick guard Lloyd, have given the Storm a fresh start. Four players on the Storm average double-digit points, including Lloyd contributing 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, Ogwumike with 17.1 points and 7.8 rebounds, Magbegor with 11.9 points and 8.2 rebounds, and Diggins with 14.4 points and 6.4 assists. In their last game, the Storm beat the second-ranked Sun 71-64, performing well across the board, particularly on defense. The whole team had four players score in double digits, with Diggins scoring 18 points and 4 rebounds, and Lloyd scoring 17 points and 5 rebounds. Multiple scoring points were key to their victory. The two teams have met twice this season, with the Liberty winning both games. In their last match, the Liberty came back to win 98-85 away against the Storm, with the Storm only managing 17 rebounds throughout the game, while the Liberty had 45 rebounds. Being out-rebounded led to the Storm’s loss. They fell behind by over half the points scored by the Liberty in three-pointers, despite Diggins and Lloyd combining for 46 points. But Stewart and Ionescu combined for 57 points for the Liberty, ultimately leading to the Storm’s reversal. Returning home for this game, the Liberty will certainly not miss the opportunity for consecutive wins.

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