ARLINGTON — We waited nine months to get the highly-anticipated WNBA Finals rematch.
And we’ll have to wait a bit longer to relive those theatrics — possibly till October with the Liberty continually getting bit by the injury bug.
In the spring, the WNBA world groaned at the league scheduling the 2024 WNBA Finals rematch between the Minnesota Lynx and Liberty more than two months after Opening Day.
And not only did we have to wait till summer, the league scheduled the 2024 finalists to face off three times within nine days in August.
Now the anticipation is ruined with the Liberty slated to enter the matchups shorthanded as Breanna Stewart (leg) and Nyara Sabally (rest) are sidelined with injuries.
Stewart exited in the first quarter of Saturday’s loss with a leg injury and Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello declined to give a timeline for her return before Monday’s road matchup against the Dallas Wings.
“No, not at this stage,” Brondello said when asked if there’s a timeline for Stewart’s return.
Sabally, who is dealing with knee discomfort, is getting some “time off to get her body right,” per Brondello.
“We’ll assess her down the track,” the coach said.
That makes two unclear timelines as the Liberty approach the first matchup against the Lynx Wednesday at Target Canter. Both teams were slated to face off again on Aug. 16 and Aug, 19.
Kennedy Burke is also dealing with lower-body cramping, but she could return to the court sooner than Stewart and Sabally. Burke, who exited Saturday’s matchup and missed Monday’s game against the Wings, is day-to-day.
The injury developments put a dark cloud over the matchups against two teams that are favorites to face of in WNBA Finals once again.
The Liberty and Lynx fought to the end in a thrilling five-game WNBA Finals series that ended with New York securing the first title in franchise history after a 67-62 overtime victory.
The game wouldn’t have been won without Sabally, who was relied on heavily in the second half of Game 5 as Brondello opted to deploy a bigger lineup to wear down Cheryl Reeve’s team.
And Stewart’s 18.6 points per game in the series helped lift the Liberty to a title.
Now, we may never get a real regular-season look a the two teams without both contributors.
On the bright side, we could get another Finals rematch between the two.
Minessota (22-5) entered Monday with the best record and No. 1 overall seed. The Liberty are 3.5 games behind them in the No. 2 seed.
If the season ended tonight, the two teams would only meet each other in the WNBA Finals — now a best-of-seven series for the first time in 2025.
The Liberty would have to get past the Las Vegas Aces in a 2-7 matchup and face off against the winner of No. 3 seed Phoenix Mercury and No. 6 seed Indiana Fever for a chance at a third consecutive WNBA Finals berth.
The Lynx’s path is much easier: a first-round matchup against the No. 8 seed Washington Mystics and a second-round series against the fourth-seeded Atlanta Dream or fifth-seeded Seattle Storm.
Another uncertainty for the upcoming matchups against Minnesota is whether Emma Meesseman will be available.
Meesseman, who reportedly considered Minnesota as a potential landing spot before committing to New York, is expected to arrive in Brooklyn some time in August after receiving a visa.
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