– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEW YORK — New York City possesses both the qualities of making a stranger feel like they’ve never left home and scaring the living daylights of an out-of-towner who touches down on the Big Apple and all the stimuli heaped on individuals almost immediately. Despite tonight being her first game in Brooklyn while wearing a Liberty jersey, it sure looked and sounded like Emma Meesseman was indeed where she belonged.
Meesseman scored 13 points in her Liberty home debut, part of a balanced team outing during New York’s 85-78 victory over the Dallas Wings on Tuesday evening. Five players scored in double figures for the Liberty, led by Jonquel Jones 15 points and 10 rebounds, as New York won its second straight game off the heels of a four-game losing streak.
The 2019 WNBA Finals MVP who recently signed with the Liberty after three seasons playing overseas, Meesseeman played 23 minutes while adding three rebounds, two assists and two blocks, as her all-around plays both continues to be a perfect fit for New York’s style of play while also taking some of the burden off the team while leading scorer Breanna Stewart remains sidelined after missing her fifth consecutive game with a bruised knee. After the game, while being interviewed by sideline reporter Tina Cervasio, chants of “Emma! Emma!” rang down from the Barclays Center crowd while all of her teammates stood just off to the side showing support for their new teammate.
“Emma’s great. I’ve had the luxury of playing with her overseas as well in Russia for a number of years and she’s just really solid. What you see is what you get,” said Jones, who was on the Connecticut Sun team that lost to Meesseeman’s Washington Mystics in the 2019 WNBA Finals. “A pro’s pro. Super intelligent on the court. High basketball IQ. Just happy that she’s here, and I get a chance to play with her and not against her to be honest with you.”
New York raced out to a 12 point lead by the first minute of the second quarter after Jones nailed a three for a 29-17 advantage, but Dallas reeled the Liberty back in by immediately going on an 8-0 run, part of a stretch that saw the Wings close the half of an 18-8 surge to cut New York’s lead to two. Two Paige Bueckers free throws pulled the Wings even at 34 with 1:51 remaining before Stephanie Talbot’s three-pointer on the ensuing possession gave New York the lead for good.
Bueckers led the Wings with 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists, but left the contest late in the third quarter with back tightness. Bueckers returned to the game in the fourth and scored seven points, but New York did not see its lead fall below three possessions for the final 8:43.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Tuesday evening’s game, with photos taken by staff photographer Chris Gonzalez. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 27 pictures in total.
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