Here’s the latest Liberty injury tracking…
June 22, 2:30 PM
Liberty guards Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Courtney VanderSloot have been ruled out for Saturday’s game between New York and the Los Angeles Sparks.
Rainey Hamilton will miss her second straight game with a right knee injury. VanderSloot returned after being away due to the death of her mother. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said before Saturday’s game that Rainey Hamilton is improving and is still taking it day by day.
VanderSloot was listed as questionable this week as he began on-court conditioning, but the veteran guard wasn’t ready to return to action. But the team said it wouldn’t rush VanderSloot’s return.
Nyala Sabali (back) also remains absent.
June 20th, 6:40pm
Liberty guard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton will miss Thursday’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks because of a right knee injury.
New York returned from a West Coast road trip and head coach Sandy Brondello said the trip likely affected her knee and that she didn’t know about her condition until this afternoon. Brondello said Laney Hamilton’s recovery is 50/50, but the team did not play her.
“We just want to be smart with her,” Brondello said. “We want to use players, but we have big games coming up and we don’t want to take any risks. We’ll see how it goes. If we have to use eight, we’ll use eight.”
Courtney VanderSloot (personal) and Nyara Sabally (back) will also be absent.
Leonie Fiebic will start in place of Lainey Hamilton.
June 8, 12:20 p.m.
Liberty guard Courtney VanderSloot will miss Saturday afternoon’s game against the Connecticut Sun.
“That’s a personal issue with Sluthi,” New York head coach Sandy Brondello said in his pre-game press conference.
“She’s not here today but the team has her full support and that’s all I can say.”
June 6, 4:50 p.m.
The Liberty updated their injury report, with guard Courtney VanderSloot and center Nyara Sabally ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Atlanta Dream.
Vandersloot was initially listed as questionable, but the team ruled him out for personal reasons.
Sabally will miss his third straight game with a back injury.
VanderSloot, a 13-year-old guard, is averaging 7.6 points and 5.3 assists in 26.3 minutes per game for the Liberty this season. In her final game, New York’s game against the Chicago Sky on Tuesday, the starting guard played 29 minutes on the court and recorded six points, four rebounds and six assists.
In eight games off the bench this year, Sabally is averaging 3.0 points and 3.1 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game.
May 31, 5:57 PM
The Liberty announced that guard Courtney VanderSloot will miss Friday’s game against the Washington Mystics due to back tightness.
Liberty coach Sandy Brondello cited the upcoming Commissioner’s Cup tournament as the reason for giving the 35-year-old guard some rest. The first game of the Cup series begins Saturday. The Liberty’s first Commissioner’s Cup game is Sunday against the Indiana Fever.
“I was smart not to put too much pressure on her tonight,” Brondello said before the match. “Courtney gives 150 percent when she’s on the court, so I was just being careful.”