INDIANAPOLIS — The Liberty thought they had turned the corner.
Less than four weeks ago, they hit rock bottom with a 20-point blowout in Indianapolis. The demoralizing defeat triggered a players-only meeting and a few other candid, uncomfortable talks.
After that, the Liberty, with a new starting lineup featuring Rebecca Allen, appeared recharged. The confidence that this team could go on a championship run was renewed.
New York went 7-1 since the last time the team played the Fever.
Tuesday was, in part, a chance to avenge that embarrassing July loss.
Instead, the Liberty looked eerily familiar to the team that previously left Indiana deflated, falling to the Fever 106-92.
The Liberty didn’t impose anything on the Fever or make them uncomfortable. They, again, got burned by elite opposing guard play.
The Fever’s dynamic backcourt of Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark had their way for most of the night, with New York’s defense providing little resistance.
Mitchell scored 20 of her game-high 28 points in the first half. Clark added 22 points and 10 assists. The two went a startling 8-for-12 from deep, including 7-for-8 in the first half.
Aliyah Boston finished with 19 points and seven rebounds.
The Liberty’s defense looked sluggish and disconnected. Their close-outs were slow.
They just didn’t have it on a night they needed to prove they did.
It put a bright spotlight on the absences of Leonie Fiebich and Satou Sabally, who’ve each been sidelined for more than a month now with no timeline to return.
The Liberty surrendered 64 points in the first half, the third-most allowed in any half in franchise history.
The Fever shot 22-for-37 (59.5 percent) from the field, including 11-for-14 (78.6 percent) from beyond the arc across the first two quarters.
New York seemed ready to storm a comeback at the start of the third.
The Liberty went on an 11-2 run to make it a nine-point game with 6:51 left. New York would get it that close once more, but that was it.
The Fever slammed the door on the Liberty with a 19-8 run to close the third quarter.
