Liberty collapse against Storm with disastrous second half

The Liberty fumbled a small halftime lead and experienced a disastrous second-half collapse as the Storm ran away with a 79-70 win.

The Liberty put up little resistance in the second half — that was until the final 2:35, when Sandy Brondello cleared the bench with New York down 17.

New York was outscored 22-6 in the third quarter and shot 22.9% overall in the second half.

Sabrina Ionescu, who scored 20 points in the first half, finished with 22. Natasha Cloud was the only other member of the Liberty to reach double-figure scoring with 12 points.

To add salt to the wound, the Liberty also had another frontcourt player go down with an injury.

Isabelle Harrison exited Sunday’s game in the third quarter and didn’t return. The severity of her injury wasn’t immediately known.

The injury comes as Jonquel Jones remains sidelined with a right ankle sprain.

The Liberty committed 17 turnovers, which the Storm converted into 20 points.

Ionescu appeared unstoppable in the first half.

She drained five 3s and made some impressive passes, including a cross-court 85-foot heave that landed in the perfect place for Rebekah Gardner to grab and lay the ball into the hoop.

Ionescu had five rebounds and four assists.

With Sunday’s loss, the Liberty dropped to 12-6 on the season, while the Storm improved to 12-7.

The Liberty’s homestand continues Tuesday when the defending champions host the Aces.