By Justin State State RiversBetnijah Laney and the New York Liberty will certainly closeout two-game homestand with a matchup against fellow first-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and the Dallas video game, New York organized a tough Washington team that was riding a three-game skid coming into the competition. At halftime, the Liberty faced an 18-point shortage, after having actually surrendered 16 fast break points and permitted the Mystics to score 51 points, shoot over 55% from the area, and 45. 5% from deep. This shortage would certainly reach 20 factors after a Tina Charles fadeaway jumper with 8:49 staying in the 3rd; nevertheless-- thanks to the transmittable grit and hustle of Jazmine Jones and Reshanda Gray, who incorporated for 20 second-half factors, New York hunkered down on defense and fought back!Jones led the method with a team-high 12-point 2nd fifty percent, and Reshanda Gray scored 8 of her 11 overall factors in the final half. Not only did the group remove a 20-point shortage to come away with a three-point success, however they likewise remarkably held the resistance to 28 second-half factors, 28. 6% capturing from the field, and 0-for-13 shooting from beyond the three-point most significant celebrity of this matinee was none various other than Jazmine Jones. Highlighted by a gritty and-one layup in change and an effort to conserve a ball from heading out of bounds that resulted in her doing her ideal Simone Biles perception, Jazmine had an impressive game. In the long run, she do with 17 factors, five rebounds, and absolutely no turnovers off the bench. Plus, after starting the game shooting 0-for-4 from the area, she shot 3-for-4 in the second half to end up 4-for-9 from the area, 2-for-3 from deep, and 7-for-7 from the charity in all, the Liberty do with 5 double-digit markers. Betnijah Laney pleased yet once more and paced the Liberty crime, scoring a team-high 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting. Novice Michaela Onyenwere had an 11-point mid-day, and Reshanda Gray shined with an 11-point, 6-rebound performance. She incorporated with Sabrina Ionescu as a wonderful roller in PRs, as Ionescu discovered her for numerous vast open layups down the stretch. When it comes to Ionescu, she do with 15 points, 5 rebounds, and five dollars on 6-for-7 capturing. Hitting 3-for-4 from three, she was even secured from past. Furthermore, Sami Whitcomb proved that she does not need to be a sniper from deep to have a large influence on the game, drawing down a team-high nine Walt Hopkins's New York squad has had plenty of piece de resistances this season; nonetheless, this one has to be up there, because this was their finest second half of the period and-- in the end-- a fantastic well-rounded performance. The team will seek to build on this great fifty percent against the Dallas TO BACKLast Thursday, the WNBA revealed that the Liberty's standout rookie, Michaela Onyenwere, has actually amassed her second-consecutive KIA Newbie of the Month award-- successfully going "back to back like [she's Jordan '96, '97 https://www.libertyteamstore.com/Betnijah_Laney_hamilton_Jersey. " Throughout the month of June, the 6-foot, surefire ROY front-runner averaged 8. 9 points and 2. 5 rebounds per video game. Her standout performance of the month can be found in a 23-point victory against the Atlanta Dream, in which she dropped 18 points on an effective 6-for-8 capturing from the floor. She is the initial rookie in franchise history to take home successive Novice of the Month honors considering that the inception of the honor in 2010. Given that being composed by the Liberty with the No. 6 general choice in the 2021 WNBA Draft out of UCLA, Onyenwere has yet to miss out on any one of the Liberty's 18 video games this period, and she has actually started in all of them. So far this period, she is balancing 10. 2 factors and 2. 8 rebounds per video game. She leads all novices in factors, mins, and blocks per game, as well as leads all newbies in total made three-pointers. And also, Onyenwere is top-2 in rebounds per video game among IN THE BACKCOURTMonday's game will certainly feature a set of new All-Star guards, one in each team's backcourt. Prior to New York's Betnijah Laney and Dallas's Arike Ogunbowale make their corresponding All-Star Game debuts in nine days in Las Vegas, they-- 2 of the WNBA's leading bucket-getters in 2021-- will initially battle each other for the 2nd time this season on Monday the two paired up 6 games into the Liberty's season, both gamers surpassed the 20-point limit; however, although Ogunbowale, who is balancing 20. 2 factors per video game and capturing 38. 7% from deep this period, dropped 24 factors in the competition, the Liberty held her to a very ineffective 6-for-20 capturing efficiency. On the various other hand, Laney, who is balancing 19. 7 factors and 5. 2 helps per game on 50% shooti