The No. 5 New York Liberty are creeping back up the ladder, as the defending WNBA champions continued reversing their recent skid with Thursday's 89-63 win over the No. 10 Washington Mystics — all while the race to the 2025 WNBA Playoffs reaches its boiling point.
While Washington rookie Sonia Citron's 18 points led the game, New York pulled together a true team effort to secure Thursday's victory, with five Liberty players scoring double-digits — including a season-high 16 points off the bench from forward Isabelle Harrison in her return from concussion protocol.
"We're not looking at the other teams at this point," Liberty forward Emma Meesseman said after the game. "We're just looking at ourselves, to maybe send a message to ourselves."
Despite that focus, New York is still contending with injury woes that have overshadowed much of the Liberty's season, taking Thursday's court without starters Sabrina Ionescu (toe), Jonquel Jones (illness), and Natasha Cloud (nose), while leaning on recently returned forward Breanna Stewart.
"We need to win the rest of our games," acknowledged Stewart, with the team gearing up for visits to the No. 4 Phoenix Mercury, No. 8 Golden State Valkyries, and No. 7 Seattle Storm over the next week. "We need to go and be road warriors."
The Liberty will have their hands full against the Mercury this weekend, with Phoenix coming in hot off a three-game winning streak with postseason-clinching top-of-mind.
"It's like a playoff matchup," Stewart added. "It's a big game, big implications, and [we're] not shying away from that."
How to watch the New York Liberty this weekend
No. 4 Phoenix will host No. 5 New York at 10 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage airing on NBA TV.