The New York Liberty will be without Jocelyn Willoughby for at least six weeks after she was diagnosed with a partial tear of her left quadriceps tendon.

Willoughby received a PRP injection and already has started to rehab the injury, but she likely will be out until July.

The third-year wing did not appear in Tuesday’s loss to the Connecticut Sun, in which the team committed 29 turnovers. Through four games this season, she has averaged 6.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and one steal.

Willoughby had just made her way back from tearing her left Achilles tendon, which caused the 2020 draft pick to miss the 2021 season.

Her injury is another trial for the Liberty, who have lost four games in a row and are looking to get back on track against the Minnesota Lynx next Tuesday.

The New York Liberty fell to the Connecticut Sun 92-65 on Tuesday for their fourth-straight loss since beating the Sun in the season opener.

The rough night for the Liberty stemmed in part from their struggles to keep hold of the ball. The team committed 29 turnovers — just one short of its single-game record of 30, set against the Mercury in 1998. The team also reached 29 turnovers last June against the Sparks.

While the number of turnovers may not have been a record, all five starters each committed at least four turnovers – a feat that had never happened before in a WNBA game.

Of the 29 turnovers, 12 came in the first quarter, nearly outpacing the 15 points the Liberty scored. Of Connecticut’s 18 points in the first half, 16 came off Liberty turnovers.

New York also had foul trouble to deal with, as Betnijah Laney, Stefanie Dolson and Michaela Onyenwere each committed four fouls apiece. Laney and Dolson were the two Liberty players to score in double-digits, with Laney posting 16 points and Dolson 13 points.

Following the loss, the Liberty players talked in the locker room for more than 20 minutes.

For the Sun, DeWanna Bonner had 16 points, four steals and three assists in her season debut, while Natisha Hiedeman had 15 points and Brionna Jones 14 points.

The Liberty will look to get back on track against the Minnesota Lynx at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Teams across the league are extending the contracts of their biggest stars as the WNBA regular season gets underway.

The New York Liberty reportedly has exercised Sabrina Ionescu’s fourth-year rookie scale option, according to Rachel Galligan of Winsidr. The guard, who was selected No. 1 overall by the Liberty in 2020, is averaging 18.8 points, five rebounds and five assists through four games this season.

The Las Vegas Aces announced Sunday that the team had signed Jackie Young to a contract extension. Young, drafted in 2019 with the No. 1 overall pick, is averaging 17.8 points per game to start the regular season behind 55.6 percent shooting.

“We are extremely excited to announce that Jackie has re-signed with the Aces!” general manager Natalie Williams in a statement. “She is a true professional, and a beast of a defender who is constantly proving that she is one of the premier guards in the league.”

The Los Angeles Sparks announced Katie Lou Samuelson’s one-year contract extension Sunday, which will keep her with the team through 2023. Samuelson joined the Sparks in 2022 via an offseason trade with the Seattle Storm.

“We’re excited to have Katie Lou be an important part of our group moving forward,” said general manager and head coach Derek Fisher. “Katie Lou is coming off her best season in the WNBA coupled with a strong overseas season in Spain. She can stretch the floor and guard multiple positions, and will be a great teammate and presence in our locker room.”

The Minnesota Lynx signed Jessica Shepard to a multi-year contract extension Sunday, with the terms of the deal not released. Shepard averaged 10.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists in Minnesota’s four losses to start the season.

The New York Liberty took down the Connecticut Sun 81-79 on Saturday, powered by the return of a fully healthy Sabrina Ionescu.

Ionescu scored 25 points while adding six assists and four rebounds. It was her fourth career game with at least 25 points and five assists, the third-most in team history.

Ionescu finally took to the court feeling fully recovered from an ankle injury she suffered three games into her rookie season. The injury lingered through the 2021 season.

“I was just really excited to be able to play,” Ionescu said. “An injury gives you an entire different perspective of the game. Just super blessed to be able to get out of a super-dark time physically and mentally and come out into the light. It’s a cool story.”

Foul trouble plagued both teams as both Dijonai Carrington and Jasmine Thomas fouled out for the Sun. The Liberty had six players acquire four fouls apiece. Jocelyn Willoughby was the only player on the court to score points and not manage four fouls for the Liberty.

In total, New York amassed 25 fouls while Connecticut had 19.

New York’s Natasha Howard had 16 points, while Sami Whitcomb added 15 points and five assists.

Also getting into double-digits for the Liberty was Willoughby with 13 points. Willoughby missed last season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during preseason.

The Liberty were without Betnijah Laney, Didi Richards and Bec Allen, but coach Sandy Brondello was happy with her team’s performance in her debut.

“We weren’t quite sure what we would get on the offensive end. I knew what we’d get on the defensive end. I think this team is tough, and I think you see the style of play that we wanted to play,” Brondello said. “We competed with one of the best teams in the WNBA. We’re both missing players, obviously, we had to dig deep.

“For me, it’s always nice to win your first game, and the fans can get to see what we’re trying to do here… a bit of relief, I suppose.”

For the Sun, Alyssa Thomas had 25 points and seven rebounds. Reigning WNBA MVP Jonquel Jones had 15 points and seven rebounds. Carrington, Thomas and Brionna Jones all scored in double-digits in the loss.

New York Liberty player AD, who previously went by the name Asia Durr, is making their return to the court this season after spending the past two years dealing with long-haul symptoms of COVID-19.

AD contracted the virus in June 2020. In the first month after getting the virus, they said that they lost 32 pounds. In early July, they were admitted to the hospital, where they were diagnosed with bronchitis.

Almost two years later, they are navigating their return to the WNBA.

“I didn’t know it would turn into two years of being sick,” AD told Sports Illustrated. “I really thought I’d be good after two weeks. But I had no idea what was about to take place.”

They added that they thought they might die from the virus “five or six times” in the last two years.

“I was literally suffering every day. I felt I was dying,” AD told Sports Illustrated.

Older sister Genesis Durr added, “Just to see the way COVID grabbed a hold of AD and [would] not let go, it was very heartbreaking.”

The experience led to internal reflection, as they figured out who they were and wanted to be. They now go by AD and use they/them pronouns. They choose not to use the terms nonbinary or transgender; rather, they said, “I just view myself as AD.”

AD is believed to be just the second current WNBA player to use pronouns other than she/her publicly, joining free agent Layshia Clarendon.

“I never had the time to sit down and figure out self,” they told Sports Illustrated. “So I feel like this was God’s way of sitting me down and saying these things need to be addressed.

“I realized I was trying to hide who I was to make other people happy. As I did the work, I realized it’s OK to be who you want to be and who you are. It’s OK if some people don’t like it…Because it feels good to be who I truly am.”

Coming back to basketball hasn’t been easy, but first-year Liberty coach Sandy Brondello has been impressed with AD’s return and recognizes the magnitude of the comeback.

“[AD is] really good with the ball in [their] hand,” she says. “Great going downhill, has a midrange, is improving in their outside shot as well.”

Still, there are times when they still experience flare-ups, and they are careful not to push too much.

“I have to be realistic and realize I’m coming off a severe sickness,” they said. “I do understand that this is still a process. Just being out there, just being available for my teammates to play, that’s success to me.”

There’s also success in returning to the court, fully embracing who they are and being open about the journey.

“It feels like I’m starting over,” AD says. “Everything with my life definitely feels so different now.”

The New York Liberty are joining the nonfungible token world, becoming the first team in WNBA history to launch NFTs in the form of digital nail art.

The Liberty will launch their NFTs on May 7, the day of their season opener against the Connecticut Sun, in celebration of their opening night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Featured in the drop will be 400 NFTs with similar designs but unique serial numbers. The collection “celebrates the ongoing cultural explosion of nail art through a unique Liberty lens,” the team said in a statement. Included will be a matchup-specific NFT for the home opener.

“As we look to be a team on the cutting-edge of technology and fan experiences, launching the league’s first NFT was the natural progression of our business,” Liberty CEO Keia Clarke said in a statement. “NFTs are the future of one-of-a-kind collectibles, and this exclusive drop celebrates the intersection of nail art culture and sports through the lens of the New York Liberty.”

Fans who purchase a ticket to the game will receive the nonfungible token for free. Other fans can purchase an NFT for $50 starting at 1 p.m. ET on the day of the game.

A host of individual athletes have launched their own NFTs, such as Sue Bird and Charli Collier, and teams such as Angel City FC have also gotten in on the NFT game.

After being cleared to play in November, Asia Durr has made their return to the WNBA at the New York Liberty’s training camp.

Durr missed the last two seasons while suffering long-haul effects of COVID-19. The 25-year-old is under contract with the Liberty for this season after being drafted with the No. 2 overall pick in 2019.

“Today was a great day,” Durr said following the first day of camp. “I’m super excited to be back with my teammates. It honestly doesn’t feel real.

“It kind of kicked in once we started practicing but I’m just super blessed and super grateful to be back with my team and have fun.”

Elsewhere with the Liberty, draftee Nyara Sabally will miss the 2022 season, as will her fellow draftee Sika Kone, who is in Spain rehabbing a knee injury. But Chinese center Han Xu has made her return and reportedly has grown an inch since last playing in the WNBA in 2019; she is now 6-foot-10.

New York Liberty draftee Nyara Sabally will not play in 2022. Sabally was the fifth overall pick by the Liberty out of Oregon.

According to Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb, the team knew heading into the draft that there was “a very strong chance” that Sabally would not play in the upcoming season “because of her current health condition.”

“We now know that’s now the case,” he said. “She will get healthy and roll with us in 2023.”

Sabally has torn her right ACL twice, first in 2018 and then again ahead of the 2019-20 season. Many analysts had eyed her health as a concern ahead of the draft. During the 2021-22 season, she missed eight games due to injury.

“Nyara is loaded with talent,” said ESPN analyst Rebecca Lobo ahead of the draft. “The biggest question is her health. I think people are questioning how healthy she is. I think that’s going to be a big factor in terms of where she’s taken, but she’s certainly skilled. She’s got the size, she’s got the skill, she can face up, head out to three, she’s got the moves inside.

“Needs to finish a little bit better but can get there. Certainly loaded with talent. I think the only thing that might hold her back a little bit is the question in terms of her injury.”

During Friday’s media call, Kolb said that player health is “paramount.”

“We want to be really careful in developing players not just in their skillset, but in their bodies,” he said.

The loss of Sabally leaves the Liberty down one player and tight on cap space.

But, according to The Next’s Jackie Powell, Han Xu – a 6-foot-9 center from China and one of the tallest players in league history – has reported to Liberty training camp. Han last played in the WNBA in 2019 under then-Liberty head coach Katie Smith. Drafted 14th overall by the team in 2019, she hasn’t yet played a full WNBA season.

Through 18 games in 2019, she averaged 3.0 points in 7.9 minutes.

Last season, the New York Liberty opted to charter the team flights for the second half of the WNBA season, resulting in a $500,000 fine and consideration of “termination of the franchise,” according to a recent Sports Illustrated report by Howard Megdal. The fine is the largest in WNBA history.

The article, which details the circumstances surrounding the league-record fine, also discusses a larger issue – the differences among WNBA owners with regards to the league’s growth.

Some, like Liberty owners Joe and Clara Tsai, want to invest more in their teams in order to turn them into profitable franchises. Others “view it as pure charity,” according to Megdal.

According to the article, the Liberty told the WNBA Board of Directors last September that they had found a way to get charter flights compensated for every team in the league for three years.

In October, Tsai tweeted out that conversations with airline CEOs were “going well.”

“They get the idea of equity for women athletes,” he said.

However, the plan lacked majority support. Some owners were worried that there would be no going back once players got used to the new form of travel.

WNBA travel has been hotly debated in the past. Currently, the league’s CBA does not allow for teams to pay for anything more than premium economy. There have been a multitude of travel issues, including delayed flights, which have led coaches like Chicago’s James Wade and Connecticut’s Curt Miller to publicly lament the complicated travel arrangements between games.

During last year’s WNBA Finals, the league chartered flights for the Chicago Sky and Phoenix Mercury between Games 2 and 3.

The current CBA does not allow teams to charter flights. When the Liberty opted to charter flights for each road game during the second half of last season, the league intervened. A $1 million fine was floated around informally, as well as the possibility of terminating the franchise or removing draft picks. Ultimately, the fine was reduced to $500,000.

Since then, Tsai isn’t the only owner to raise the possibility of charter flights. Las Vegas Aces owner Mark Davis said in an early February media call that the “players do deserve more money” as well as better flight options.

“They don’t need to be flying on commercial flights,” Davis said. “We should have charter flights.”

On Tuesday, Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu responded to the article, saying “What a joke.”

Rebecca Allen has re-signed with the New York Liberty on a multi-year deal, the team announced Friday.

Allen’s contract, as first reported by Just Women’s Sports, is a protected two-year deal worth $141,000 in the first year and $136,850 in the second, according to The Next. The Liberty previously waived guard Jazmine Jones and forward Leaonna Odom to make room for Allen’s deal.

The 6-foot-2 Australian guard is coming off of the best season of her career with the Liberty. Allen averaged 9.2 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 38 percent from the 3-point line in 25 games to help New York advance to the WNBA playoffs for the first time in four years.

In addition to her increasing offensive production, Allen provides length and the ability to stretch defenses with her shot. Having played in 133 games (and started 21) across six seasons with the Liberty, Allen also brings crucial experience to a youth-heavy roster featuring Sabrina Ionescu, Michaela Onyenwere and Betnijah Laney.

Stefanie Dolson, officially introduced this week after signing with the Liberty in free agency, adds another veteran presence and brings championship pedigree to New York. Dolson won both a gold medal in 3×3 basketball at the Tokyo Olympics and a WNBA championship with the Chicago Sky last year.

Allen will join fellow Aussie and newly named Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello, who was hired in January after parting ways with the Phoenix Mercury. Allen is also a member of the Australian women’s national team, which is coached by Brondello.

Rachel Galligan is a basketball analyst at Just Women’s Sports. A former professional basketball player and collegiate coach, she also contributes to Winsidr. Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachGall.