LOS ANGELES — The Liberty and Las Vegas Aces’ rivalry seems due for a sequel.
The first chapter is scheduled for Tuesday when the two teams meet for the first time this season.
It’ll be a prelude to next week’s Commissioner’s Cup final, which is being played at Barclays Center for the first time.
But before the Liberty can even think about potentially winning a large share of the $500,000 prize pool, they have plenty of work to do.
The 12-4 Aces are New York’s biggest challenge yet, and the Liberty are coming off their worst loss of the season.
Coach Chris DeMarco has one main thing he’s looking for in his team on its four-game West Coast trip.
“The biggest thing is just consistency, putting together 40-minute games, offensively and defensively,” DeMarco said before Sunday’s loss to the Sparks. “I just want consistency — not just from a game plan standpoint but the effort standpoint.”
DeMarco didn’t get his wish in the Liberty’s blood-boiling 98-97 setback to Los Angeles to start this road trip.
It was the tale of two halves for the Liberty.
They led by as many as 17 points in the third quarter before suffering a stunning collapse.
It wasn’t the first time the Liberty blew a double-digit lead.
The question now is how the Liberty will respond with their rival on deck.
Will they bounce back?
Or will they continue to flounder?
Betnijah Laney-Hamilton missed two consecutive games after having an injection in her surgically repaired knee.
She was cleared to play Sunday but rode the pine anyway.
Coach Chris DeMarco said Laney-Hamilton didn’t play as part of the team’s “reintegration” plan.
He didn’t divulge details.
It hasn’t been an easy season for Laney-Hamilton, who is in a prove-it year after signing a one-year, $400,000 deal with New York.
She stepped away from the team early on for “personal reasons.”
Upon her return, she was moved to the bench.
Laney-Hamilton has averaged 6.5 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 11 games this season.
Satou Sabally finally got moved to the Liberty’s starting lineup Sunday, replacing Marine Johannès, who came off the bench for the first time this season.
“We just thought it was time for Satou,” DeMarco said when asked about the lineup change. “It’s hard to get her to the minutes we want to coming off the bench, so we just wanted to have size and we have a ton of confidence in our ability and our size to make 3s to be able to defend and everything that goes with it.”