Shorthanded Liberty survive scare in rematch with Valkyries to secure best start since 2007
Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Madeline Kenney about all things Liberty and WNBA.Thursday’s game against the Valkyries was close.Too close.With under two minutes to go, Golden State had a one-point lead.With under a minute left, the Liberty were up by one.In the end, though, Natasha Cloud put the game away, scoring four points in the final 24 seconds, and the Liberty managed to survive the Valkyries, 82-77, to secure their best start (5-0) since 2007.It wasn’t comfortable or pretty, but it was a win.Breanna Stewart led all scorers with 27 points, Sabrina Ionescu had 24 points and made six 3s, and Kennedy Burke, who started in place of Jonquel Jones (right hamstring), recorded 22 points and seven rebounds.The Valkyries put up a much better fight Thursday than they did two days prior in the Liberty’s 95-67 win.Monique Billings was back in the rotation after missing Tuesday’s game with a right foot injury and contributed 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.Janelle Salaun also was more impactful, recording 18 points and 13 rebounds.Every time it felt like the Liberty were building some sort of momentum, the Valkyries responded.The two teams traded buckets for most of the game as neither team led by more than six points.The Valkyries had the ball with 42.6 seconds left while facing a one-point deficit.But the Liberty forced Golden State into a five-second violation on the inbound pass.Ionescu dribbled down some of the clock before giving the ball to Natasha Cloud, who took it to the cup to give the Liberty a three-point advantage with 24 seconds left.Cecilia Zandalasini airballed a 3, and Cloud put the game away with a pair of free throws.The Liberty managed to remain perfect on the season, improving to 5-0.Meanwhile, the Valkyries fell to 2-3.Jones’ absence was noticeable.The Liberty averaged the second-most paint points per game (40.5) through their first four games, while the Valkyries ra...