Liberty coach Sandy Brondello has her team back and reloaded for another run at the franchise's first-ever WNBA title. AP Photo by Frank Franklin II

The buzzer sounded at Barclays Center just before Jonquel Jones final attempt at extending the WNBA Finals last October.

Courtney Vandersloot missed everything on a potential game-winning jumper just over a second earlier.

WNBA Most Valuable Player Breanna Stewart made only three of her 17 field-goal attempts in the Game 4 heartbreaker.

The New York Liberty had a lot to lament this offseason after coming within a single shot of forcing a fifth and decisive game against the reigning two-time champion Las Vegas Aces.

The hard-to-swallow 70-69 defeat before another record-setting crowd at Barclays brought with it some doubt whether Jones, the 2021 WNBA MVP, and Stewart, who earned her second league award last season, would be back for another run at it.

Also, Vandersloot, a surefire Hall of Fame point guard, had a decision to make regarding whether shed continue playing in the best womens basketball league in the world after 13 brilliant seasons.

But they all agreed, along with current and former All-Stars Sabrina Ionescu and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, to reboot the quest for this franchises first-ever championship.

That journey officially began Sunday when New York players reunited on the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush to finish off what they started in 2023.

The Superteam is back to complete some unfinished business.

We know what happened last year and the fact we didnt achieve our goal will motivate us, but its not what were thinking about the entire season, reigning WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart revealed.

Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb, who earned WNBA Executive of the Year honors for bringing Jones, Stewart and Vandersloot to Brooklyn, didnt stay put with the roster that earned the Liberty the most wins in franchise history and their first Finals appearance since 2002.

After re-signing Stewart and Jones, he brought in a trio of free agents, Kennedy Burke, Leonie Fiebich and Ivana Dojki, each of whom has international and WNBA experience.

Kolb, alongside head coach Sandy Brondello, also infused the roster with fresh talent in last months draft.

The Liberty selected guard Marquesha Davis from the University of Mississippi with the 11th overall pick, and added second-rounders Esmery Martinez and Jessika Carter at forward and center, respectively.

Tonight was a success for the future of the New York Liberty. Welcoming Marquesha, Esmery, Jessika, and Kaitlyn to the organization further expands our breadth of young talent for 2024 and beyond as we strategically pursue perennial contention, Kolb said at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

We are excited to add this versatile group, both in the immediate and future, with unique skillsets that fit our style of play here in New York, added Brondello.

New talent aside, the Liberty will rely most heavily on the players that brought them to the brink of a title last year, as well as veteran returnees Kayla Thornton and Nyara Sabally.

But unlike last May, there isnt an air of mystery as to how well this then-newly formed group would perform.

I know at this time last year I was meeting Courtney as a teammate for the first time, Ionescu told the Associated Press.

Having one year under our belt, training camp feels different. Weve been able to grow so much as a group and having a returning starting five helps so much that were building from last year.

Whether theyve built something that will result in our boroughs first championship parade down Flatbush Avenue since 1955 is yet to be determined.

However, knowing a team that came so close last year against a reigning dynasty from Sin City should bring Brooklynites out in droves to Barclays, where the Liberty set team and league records for attendance last summer.

Stewart, a two-time WNBA champion in Seattle, is chomping at the bit to run it back in 2024.

Im really excited to get things going with a new and old group and build the chemistry, she noted. Now most of us have a year under our belt, what are we going to do bigger on and off the court?

They cant do something bigger than last year until October at the earliest.

But the drive for Title I begins May 14 in Washington, D.C., with the teams regular-season opener.

The Liberty will open the home portion of their schedule May 18 vs. first overall pick Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever.

April 30 | John Torenli, Sports Editor

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Excerpt from:

Liberty back to take second shot at title - Brooklyn Daily Eagle