The New York Liberty suffered just their second loss of the season on Thursday, falling 87-70 to the Golden State Valkyries. It was also only their second home game of the year. Despite how promising things looked heading into the contest, the result turned out to be the complete opposite as the Valkyries stunned them on their own floor.

Veteran forward Breanna Stewart was blunt in her postgame assessment of what happened. “Not much went right,” she said, and she meant it. “I think that we gave up a lot of threes to a pretty good shooting team, and then we couldn’t get back into it. Giving up 25 points in the first quarter gave them a head of steam,” Stewart explained.

Just as she explained, the Valkyries did make 13 three-pointers from 35 attempts, five of which came in the first 10 minutes of the game. And that helped them establish an early lead that they were simply unwilling to drop from then onward.

As Breanna Stewart identified, the damage was done early, and it started with the perimeter defense. New York consistently failed to close out to shooters, and players like Gabby Williams, who hit four three-pointers on the night, were given several open looks from beyond the arc.

Stewart pointed all these out in the interview. “Not closing out to shooters, running them off the line, just better awareness of who’s in front of you and who you’re guarding,” she said.

Another issue Stewart pointed to as a direct cause of the defeat “was fouling at the three-point line.” The Liberty’s defenders committed multiple perimeter fouls, giving Golden State 25 free throw attempts, of which they converted 18. Combined with their 13 three-pointers, the Valkyries generated more than half their points from either beyond the arc or from the charity stripe.

Stewart’s diagnosis was correct. It didn’t help that she herself scored just 18 points, her season low.

This was supposed to be the opening game of a seven-game homestand at Barclays Center, a stretch the Liberty were clearly hoping to use to build momentum and establish their home ground advantage.

Their only prior home game this season had ended in a win over the Connecticut Sun, and expectations were reasonably high heading into Thursday’s contest. Instead, the Valkyries arrived and stunned them from the opening tip.

Dallas awaits Sunday; two days to fix perimeter defense before Paige Bueckers and interior-heavy Wings. Six games at Barclays Center still lie ahead. If the Liberty can rediscover the defensive intensity that their early-season performances suggested they have, this homestand can still be salvaged.

A Game-by-Game Look Ahead at the Liberty’s Remaining Home Stand

The New York Liberty have just two days to regroup before hosting the Dallas Wings in their next game on Sunday. This will serve as their immediate opportunity to bounce back from the disappointing loss to the Golden State Valkyries. However, if they are going to respond with a win, it certainly will not come easily.

They’ll be facing rookie sensation Paige Bueckers and a highly physical Dallas side that thrives through interior dominance and low-post offense. For the Liberty, fixing the defensive issues exposed against Golden State, especially avoiding early fouls and tightening their perimeter rotations, will be absolutely crucial.

After Dallas, the Liberty will quickly turn their attention toward the Portland Fire, whom they host in what will already be the third meeting between both teams this season. New York and Portland previously split a competitive two-game series earlier, and now Barclays Center presents the Liberty with an opportunity to settle the score properly.

Portland’s high-energy transition offense has caused serious problems for New York in the past. This means that controlling the tempo will likely become the biggest priority this time around.

Things then become even more complicated as the Liberty enter a rare back-to-back home miniseries against the Phoenix Mercury. The Mercury’s veteran-led, perimeter-heavy offense presents a completely different challenge from Dallas and Portland.

Their ability to generate high three-point volume will also heavily test the Liberty’s newly adjusted defensive awareness schemes. For coach Chris DeMarco, it could become the ultimate test of how quickly this Liberty defense can adapt after what happened against the Valkyries.

The Liberty will also face Phoenix twice within 48 hours. At that point, there will be no surprises left between either side. Adjustments will decide everything. If the Mercury successfully exposes a particular defensive weakness in game one, the Liberty coaching staff will need to respond immediately heading into the rematch.

Following a short break, New York will then host another expansion side in the Toronto Tempo. Much like the Valkyries, Toronto represents an unfamiliar roster capable of causing problems through aggressive perimeter shooting. And after already suffering one shocking home defeat to an expansion team, the Liberty will know they cannot afford another slow or careless start. 

Finally, the entire homestand concludes with what is easily the marquee matchup of the stretch against the Indiana Fever. A showdown against Caitlin Clark and the Fever automatically raises the intensity level, but the stakes here go beyond just star power.

The game also carries major Commissioner’s Cup implications, making it one of the most important contests of the homestand. Indiana’s fast-paced screen-and-roll offense will demand elite communication from the Liberty defense, and ending the homestand with a statement victory could give New York massive momentum before heading back out on the road.