Much has changed since the New York Liberty last faced the Washington Mystics.
On September 19, the Libs outlasted a brutally physical, feisty, unafraid Mystics team in Game Two of their first-round playoff series to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Since then, Washington cornerstones Elena Delle Donne and Natasha Cloud have announced an indefinite break from basketball and signed with the Phoenix Mercury in free agency, respectively. The team that New York Head Coach Sandy Brondello repeatedly called “not a 7-seed” last postseason. She was referencing regular-season injuries that deflated Washington’s record, may not be a 7-seed for real anymore.