Betnijah Laney-Hamilton needed time.
She stepped away from the Liberty for personal reasons last week and missed the first three games of this seven-game homestand.
She returned to the rotation in Wednesday’s win, playing a huge role in a 23-0 run that sealed the win against the Phoenix Mercury.
In Friday’s 75-68 victory, Laney-Hamilton finished with 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting. She also had three rebounds, two assists and two steals off the bench. Notably, she was part of the closing lineup.
Laney-Hamilton said she’s still adjusting to her role, but is willing to do whatever is asked — even if it means coming off the bench.
“She’s a pro,” said Satou Sabally, who, like Laney-Hamilton, is also integrating herself into the team after missing time. “Even throughout her process, she’s actually been super encouraging even for me and so she’s really a leader and I looked up to her in that way just the way she carried herself the way she communicated with us, that she does need a little bit of time, so I think we all see how hard she works every single day in the gym, so she took her time and is ready to ball.”
That she is.
Laney-Hamilton is a key leader of this team. She’s the glue player, though she’s still working to find her groove after missing all of last season while recovering from knee surgery.
Returning from injuries is as mentally challenging as it is physically. But Laney-Hamilton is taking it all in stride and making progress each day.
“She’s been great,” Sabally said. “I think her strength lays with the defense and it’s really intimidating to play against her because she’s so poised and she has that step and she’s really strong but she can shoot.”
She is really a three-way player that can also post up people, so I think she’s just a weapon that’s really hard to guard and on defense, you can really guard all spots, we can switch with her, she can guard the ball, she’ll get over screens so it’s just tremendous to have her back.”
Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu remains “day to day with back soreness,” coach Chris DeMarco said after Friday shootaround.
Friday’s was the third consecutive game Ionescu watched from the Liberty bench and second because of the back issue.
DeMarco said Ionescu is “just sore” and doesn’t believe the issue is linked to the left foot injury that sidelined her for the first two weeks of the season. “It’s something that’s been bothering her a little bit,” he said. “But I don’t know if it was a tweak or what happened. Just know she’s working to get back to the next one.”
