Rebekah

Gardner

After inconsistent minutes off the bench all season long for Gardner, Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello has started to embrace what Gardner can bring to table. She has seemingly made the Liberty’s first-round playoff rotation as the Liberty look to lean into the defensive end of the ball against the Mercury. While Gardner put really good ball pressure on the Sky’s ball handlers on Thursday night, she was productive on offense and scored 15 points for her highest-scoring game since July of 2022. Gardner took five shots and didn’t miss one which included three three-pointers and two layups at the rim including a putback following a Gardner offensive rebound.

While Ionescu was not under an official minutes restriction for Tuesday’s game, her 27 minutes were nearly five fewer than her season average (31.7). While the Liberty guard did not offer much in the way of scoring, missing both of her three-point attempts, she was effective as a playmaker for others. Ionescu finished with nine assists and two turnovers, with the former tally matching her total in New York’s August 25 win over the Sun. While Rebekah Gardner (three points and one three-pointer in 15 minutes) remained in the rotation, Marine Johannès only played the final two minutes. The minutes distribution behind starting guards Ionescu and Natasha Cloud (11/1/5 with one three-pointer) will be something to watch when the Liberty open postseason play on Sunday.

Ionescu, available after a four-game absence due to a toe injury, has been thrust back into the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game. As a result, Rebekah Gardner will come off the bench after starting and playing 23 minutes in Friday’s win over Seattle. While Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello did not provide a specific minutes limit for Ionescu, she may not have a full workload with New York locked into the 5-seed for the playoffs.

Ionescu will miss her fourth straight game since suffering an injury to her left toe during a practice on August 27. While Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello noted Ionescu is much better and will play when the team returns home for a game on Tuesday, she expressed that it has taken longer than expected for Ionescu to return. Brondello explained that the delay was because of Ionescu’s comfort level and the fact that she struggled pushing off while running without pain. On Tuesday the Liberty started Kennedy Burke in Ionescu’s place, but expect Marine Johannès and Rebekah Gardner to have meaningful minutes as well on Friday night.

While the Liberty will welcome Breanna Stewart back to the lineup on Monday, they’ll lose their starting point guard, Cloud, due to a nose injury suffered in the third quarter of Saturday’s loss to the Dream. The veteran guard had missed only one game previously in her debut season with the Liberty, averaging 10.0 points and 5.3 assists per game across 36 appearances. Marine Johannes is a candidate to replace Cloud in New York’s starting lineup on Monday, and so is Rebekah Gardner.

At the beginning of the third quarter on Saturday, Cloud was matched up on Dream center Brionna Jones underneath the basket. Jones got a post-entry pass from Allisha Gray and then Jones got fouled on her layup to the basket. Cloud went flying to the ground and was slow to get up as Jones ended up poking her in the nose. After Cloud got back and up and returned to play for the next seven minutes, she was then subbed out for Marine Johannès and didn’t return to the floor for the rest of the game. If Cloud can’t play on Monday, Johannès will get extended run alongside Rebekah Gardner who played meaningful minutes on Saturday afternoon. If Cloud and Ionescu cannot play on Monday, both Johannès and Gardner will be relied upon heavily.

Ionescu didn’t play in the Liberty’s previous game on Saturday against the Dream due to a left foot injury that she sustained during the final minute of the Liberty’s Thursday night game against the Sky. Head coach Sandy Brondello noted in her pregame press conference on Saturday that Ionescu avoided major injury but they wanted her to have some extra recovery days rather than hopping on a plane to Atlanta to then fly back to New York a day later. If Ionescu has to miss another game, Marine Johannès will probably start in her place and Rebekah Gardner will play more meaningful minutes, similar to what the rotations were on Saturday against the Dream.

Johannes will fill into New York’s starting lineup on Saturday for the injured Sabrina Ionescu (foot). She’ll make her fourth start of the season, bringing scoring and playmaking to the opening unit. Even without Ionescu and Breanna Stewart (leg), the Liberty will rely on a veteran group in Saturday’s important matchup with the second-seeded Dream, who are one game above the Liberty in the standings. Rebekah Gardner could see an increase in minutes from off the bench.

Ionescu’s injury leaves the Liberty down two starters and former first-overall picks for their big matchup with the Dream on Saturday. New York enters its matchup in fifth place in the WNBA standings, just a game behind Atlanta, which currently holds the second seed. In Ionescu’s absence, Marine Johannes and Rebekah Gardner are candidates to see more playing time.

With under a minute remaining in regulation on Thursday night, Ionescu battled for a rebound. Sky Center Kamilla Cardoso tied her up to try to force the jump ball. After the game Ionescu explained what happened and said that Cardoso landed hard on her left foot. If Ionescu cannot play on Saturday for the Liberty against the Dream in a pivotal game to decide playoff seeding, guard Marine Johannès will be called upon to play more. Rebekah Gardner will also move up in the rotation to give Johannès a breather.