At their best, the Liberty built a 17-point lead.
Sabrina Ionescu hit 29- and 30-foot 3-pointers.
Their work-in-progress offense found some fluidity — some normalcy — even as Courtney Vandersloot sat on the bench, out with back tightness.
But at their worst, the Liberty allowed the Mystics to gradually chip away their sizable deficit and take the lead in the fourth quarter.
Breanna Stewart shot 4-for-13 from the field — and 0-for-4 on 3-pointers — and Ionescu managed just 24 points after a 15-point opening frame.
That was still enough to escape with a 90-79 win Friday night at Barclays Center, but the Liberty’s sixth victory of the season and second in a row was an underwhelming one against the winless Mystics.
Stewart and Jonquel Jones both finished with double-doubles, while Kayla Thornton, starting in place of Vandersloot, finished with 20 points, her most in a game since August 2022.
The dagger came from Thornton, too.
She was an under-the-radar signing by the Liberty ahead of last season, someone who came off the bench and didn’t generate the same spotlight that the rest of the superteam did.
But with Vandersloot out, Thornton made her first start since 2022 and hit a critical 3 with 2:06 remaining after Washington cut the Liberty’s deficit to four.
The Mystics didn’t get closer than that again.
