Liberty’s 23-0 – Marine Johannes scored 21 points as the New York Liberty broke open the game with a 23-0 third-quarter run to beat the Phoenix Mercury 84-74 on Wednesday night in a rematch with new faces. Jonquel Jones added 17 points and powered the surge as Phoenix’s scorin
NEW YORK — Marine Johannes watched the Phoenix Mercury’s early fight, felt the tension of a close game, and then watched it slip away in a way that rarely happens in the WNBA.
When the Liberty were down 55-49 with 6:09 left in the third quarter. coach Chris DeMarco turned to Betnijah Laney-Hamilton. bringing her into a game that suddenly needed a different spark. New York answered with a staggering 23-0 run to close the quarter. including 10 points from Jonquel Jones. and turned a manageable deficit into a 72-55 lead heading into the fourth.
The numbers told the story of how quickly Phoenix unraveled: the Mercury finished with eight turnovers, three of them coming on offensive fouls during the drought. Phoenix’s nearly seven-minute scoring stretch finally ended when Monique Akoa Makani hit a 3-pointer in the corner.
New York made sure that breakthrough didn’t matter for long. The Liberty controlled the final quarter well enough to keep Phoenix from getting closer than 10 as the Mercury dropped their fourth consecutive game and fell to 2-6 on the season.
Johannes led the Liberty with 21 points. Jones added 17 points and was central to the third-quarter swing. Phoenix was led by Kahleah Copper’s 19 points.
This night carried extra weight because it was a rematch of last season’s first-round playoff series. which the Mercury won as they advanced to the WNBA Finals. The roster stories are different this season: Satou Sabally. who came to New York from Phoenix. was in the building but not on the floor. She had been questionable due to an illness that forced her out of Monday’s game. warmed up. and was then scratched an hour before tipoff.
Sabrina Ionescu also missed the game due to a back issue, while the Liberty returned two key names. Laney-Hamilton came back after missing a few games for personal reasons, and Leonie Fiebich returned after recovering from winning a Spanish league title.
The Liberty’s momentum didn’t start late. In the first half, Johannes set the tone with hot shooting—15 points at the break, including five 3-pointers with four coming in the first quarter. She finished with seven made 3s.
After 10 minutes, New York led 24-22. At the half, Phoenix had edged back to a 43-42 lead, powered by Copper. Then came the third quarter, and the entire feel of the game changed.
Phoenix’s Makani played her first game of the season, finishing overseas commitments before arriving in New York.
For the Liberty, the win ended a three-game losing streak—their longest since 2022—and shifted their record to 4-4.
The teams will meet again on Friday night.
New York Liberty Phoenix Mercury WNBA Marine Johannes Jonquel Jones Betnijah Laney-Hamilton Satou Sabally Leonie Fiebich Sabrina Ionescu Kahleah Copper Monique Akoa Makani Chris DeMarco 23-0 third quarter