Liberty Staying Focused On Closing Out Regular Season

New York (24-17) has dropped four of six since a potential momentum-shifting win over the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on Aug. 19. The latest injury scare centers on Sabrina Ionescu, who has missed all but one of the last five with foot issues after a loss to woebegone Chicago was further marred by a painful encounter with Kamilla Cardoso during a late rush for a loose ball.

But avoidable ailments have continued to plague the Liberty, particularly over their last two games that followed home wins over Connecticut and Washington: nearly half of the opposing tallies in an 80-66 loss to the Phoenix Mercury last weekend came through either second chance points or yields off turnovers. One costly period in the Bay Area saw them get outscored 26-8 in a game they lost to the playoff-bound Golden State Valkyries by eight ... one that saw them score under 60 points for the first time in over three years.

Early postseason showdowns can be a blessing for a team looking to find its late footing but the Liberty aren't interested in testing its mettle against those also playoff-bound until its internal issues are settled. After all, the famed "All we got, all we need" mantra continues to persist ... even in times of metropolitan distress.

"We're not looking at other teams at this point," forward Emma Meesseman said last week, downplaying a win over a Washington group that was still fighting for a playoff spot at the time. "We're just looking at ourselves, to send a message to ourselves, to know what we can do when we're locked in, when we play together, make the ball move. So we see that if we do that, it makes it so much easier about being locked in [for the playoffs]."