Liberty set for final preseason tune-up, roster decisions before WNBA title defense begins

EUGENE, Ore.— Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu is looking forward to putting on a show in her highly anticipated return to Matthew Knight Arena on Monday night.“Tomorrow will be really exciting to be back in front of a sellout crowd here, a lot of good energy and vibes and so I know for us, everyone’s going to want to play better for me and for Nyara [Sabally] because we’re back here,” Ionescu told The Post on Sunday.

“Being able to play in front of our fans, you want to just put a good product out on the court.And I know for me, it’ll be my last time playing in Matt Knight and so I want to make sure I’m coming in and enjoying the moment.”But even with all the fun Ionescu and Sabally have had showing the Liberty their old stomping ground this weekend, this is a business trip.And Monday’s preseason finale against the Toyota Antelopes of the Women’s Japan Basketball League will be the Liberty’s last public tune-up against players other than themselves before New York’s season opener Saturday against the Las Vegas Aces.Preseason basketball games are like a trial run.

It’s a chance for players to build chemistry with one another and to test out different lineups.The end results obviously don’t hold any weight on how the team’s season may play out.Last season, the Chicago Sky pummeled the Liberty by 48 points in the preseason and New York went on to win its first WNBA title.So that’s why no one within the Liberty was sweating Friday’s preseason loss against the Sun on Friday night.“We really never get too high or too low over preseason games,” Ionescu said.“It’s just a new team, a lot of new faces, trying to figure [each other] out.”Friday wasn’t the full picture of the Liberty.Breanna Stewart watched the preseason game from the bench and Leonie Fiebich was gearing up for the Spanish League Finals with Valencia.Coach Sandy Brondello also deliberately limited some other veterans’ playing time, including Ionescu and Natasha ...