Sports
New York Liberty found a key factor in Betnijah Laney-Hamilton for WNBA Finals win
NEW YORK — Betnijah Laney-Hamilton couldn’t immediately pick her favorite moment from the New York Liberty’s WNBA Finals Game 2 win over the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday. So here are some possibilities.
Perhaps she will reflect on her first made 3-pointer just over five minutes into New York’s eventual 80-66 win. That’s when Courtney Vandersloot knew it would be Laney-Hamilton’s night. “She looked different tonight,” Vandersloot said. “When she’s playing like that we’re a different team.”
Or maybe Laney-Hamilton will look back on her final 3-pointer with 3:21 remaining in the contest — a triple that stretched the Liberty’s lead from two points to five and halted another furious fourth-quarter Lynx rally — with the most fondness. “A corner 3 for (Laney-Hamilton) is a layup,” guard Sabrina Ionescu said.
Or will it be Laney-Hamilton’s postgame hugs with Ionescu and Kayla Thornton as a Barclays Center record 18,040 fans basked in the joy of a New York victory? Or her receiving the game ball in New York’s locker room that will be the most meaningful?
The options are numerous because Laney-Hamilton’s impact was immense. She tied her season high with 20 points and played stifling defense on Minnesota’s Courtney Williams and Kayla McBride.
“She plays at both ends of the floor, and plays hard,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. “She’s a winner, so happy that she got this success tonight and (can) keep building on it.”
Bucket 🐝 was ACTIVATED 👑@BetnijahLaney is our @Withings Player of the Game 🔥 pic.twitter.com/C82OIprXaI
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) October 13, 2024
If Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals will be remembered because of New York’s historic collapse, the second game will be remembered because of contributions made up and down the Liberty roster. An X-factor was the key factor.
“You need players beyond your starters, and for two games they’ve done that,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. “And we’re having trouble getting that consistently. We’ve got to have that.”
Laney-Hamilton’s starring role was especially welcomed for New York after her relatively minimal impact in Game 1. Her 26 minutes in that loss were the fewest among New York’s starters. On the eve of Game 2, Brondello was tempered while assessing Laney-Hamilton’s performance. “I think everyone sees that she’s trying. It’s not the same ‘B’ that we’ve seen all season long, but it is what it is,” Brondello said on Saturday.
Yet, Brondello noticed Laney-Hamilton knocking down 3-pointers consistently at the Liberty’s off-day practice and during Sunday’s pregame warmups.
Then the ball tipped, and Laney-Hamilton made an instant impact. Minnesota had been consistently going under screens she was involved in. Aggressive and open, she sunk her first 2-point jumper and her first 3-pointer two possessions later.
That was all part of the plan. New York has preached for her not to be passive.
“We know she can do this,” Liberty star Breanna Stewart said.
But Laney-Hamilton didn’t always show it because of injury. She played in only 28 games during the regular season, missing 12 games between July 6 to Aug. 26 because of a knee procedure. Brondello said New York missed Laney-Hamilton’s playmaking and grittiness. “How she’s the ultimate competitor,” Brondello said.
Players other than Stewart, Ionescu and Jones emerged in her absence, which was paramount to the Liberty’s league-best 32 regular-season wins. It has also been key throughout the postseason as they stormed past the Atlanta Dream in the first round and overpowered the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals. Laney-Hamilton had scored double-digits only one other time this postseason, and she hadn’t scored 20 points since early July.
It’s a credit to New York’s roster that different players can play a key role on any given night. In Game 1, for instance, Leonie Fiebich shined, making five 3-pointers and tallying 17 points. Fiebich had only one basket Sunday, and it didn’t matter.
Laney-Hamilton scored 20 points in the Liberty’s win. (Luther Schlaifer / NBAE via Getty Images)
“(General manager Jonathan Kolb) built this team to be able to withstand anything that any of the opponents in the W are going to be able to throw at us, and so it’s really good to see everybody stepping up,” Jonquel Jones said. “That’s what it’s going to take.”
The Lynx have X-factors who have emerged as well throughout their postseason run. Their two All-Stars, Napheesa Collier and McBride have been effective throughout the playoffs. But offensive bursts from Williams or Bridget Carleton, or rim-protection and timely 3-point shooting from Alanna Smith have often been the difference in Minnesota’s journey.
But through two games, the Lynx haven’t shown who will consistently step up. Williams was held in check with 15 points on Sunday. “(It’s) a huge difference,” Reeve said. “Both games (New York has) gotten help.”
Perhaps a return to Target Center will lift Carleton in particular. She has made only six of her last 30 3-point attempts. Perhaps a Minnesota reserve will provide a spark off the bench (it received just five bench points in Game 2).
After Sunday’s win, Laney-Hamilton wouldn’t go into specifics on her health. She chose to instead dwell on her accomplishments.
“To see a glimpse of what I’m capable of, it felt really good,” she said. And it was meaningful too. Her final 3-pointer especially changed the game’s momentum as the Lynx had slashed a 17-point New York lead to two.
History will show if that shot, and Laney-Hamilton’s overall play, changed the series when the finals resume on Wednesday night.
“She played a huge role in the game ending up in the way that it did and she’s gonna continue to do it for these next two games,” Ionescu said. “We believe in her. She knows that.”
(Photo: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
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Napoleon Solo took home the 2026 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the 151st running of the race.
The favorite in Taj Mahal, the 1 horse, was in the lead from the start until the final turn until Napoleon Solo made his move on the outside and took the lead at the top of the stretch. As Taj Mahal fell off, Iron Honor, the 9 horse, snuck up, but the effort ultimately was not enough.
Napoleon Solo opened at 8-1 and closed at 7-1. Iron Honor, at 8-1, finished second, with Chip Honcho fishing third after closing at 11-1. Ocelli, one of just three horses to run both the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and Saturday’s Preakness, finished fourth at 8-1.
A Preakness branded starting gate is seen on track prior to the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, 2026 in Laurel, Maryland. For the first and only time, Laurel Park is hosting the Preakness Stakes which is the second race of the Triple Crown jewel due to the traditional home of the race of the Pimlico Race Course undergoing complete renovations. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
A $1 exacta paid out $53.60, while a $1 trifecta brought in $597.10. But someone out there is very lucky, as a $1 superhighfive – picking the top-five finishers in order – paid out $12,015.70.
Even moreso, a 20-cent Pick 6 – picking the winners of the six consecutive races, with the final being the Preakness, paid out $33,842.34.
The race was run without the Kentucky Derby winner for the second year in a row. After Sovereignty did not run the Preakness last year – and wound up winning the Belmont Stakes – the training team of Golden Tempo opted to skip the Maryland race.
From 1960 to 2018, only three Derby winners did not run in the Preakness. Three Derby winners have skipped the Preakness in the last five years, and for the sixth time in eight years, for various reasons, the Triple Crown had already been impossible to accomplish by the time the Preakness even rolled around.
“I understand that fans of the sport or fans of the Triple Crown are disappointed, but the horse is not a machine,” Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, told Fox News Digital earlier this week.
Paco Lopez, right, atop Napoleon Solo, edges out Iron Honor, ridden by Flavien Prat, to win the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
CHERIE DEVAUX REFLECTS ON MAKING KENTUCKY DERBY HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TRAINER TO WIN THE RACE
Only three horses from two weeks ago – Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt, were back at the Preakness. Corona de Oro, the 11 horse on Saturday, was scratched well ahead of the Derby, and Great White, who reared up and fell on his back after becoming startled shortly before entering the Derby gate, took the 13 post on Saturday.
The Preakness went off roughly 24 hours after a horse died following the completion of his very first race.
Hit Zero, trained by Brittany Russell, came into the race as the favorite. However, he finished last in the race, which was won by another one of Russell’s horses, Bold Fact — and upon crossing the finish line, Hit Zero reportedly began coughing, dropped to his knees, then put his head down and died.
The Preakness took place at Laurel Park as Pimlico undergoes renovations. It was the first time ever that Pimlico did not host the race, moving roughly 20 miles south.
Paco Lopez, atop Napoleon Solo, wins the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The Belmont Stakes, the final Triple Crown race, will take place on June 6. The race will return to Saratoga for a third year in a row as Belmont Park continues to be renovated.
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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL
CITY SECTION FINALS
FRIDAY
At Birmingham
DIVISION I
#1 Taft d. #3 Cleveland, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21
DIVISION IV
#7 Maywood CES d. #4 Math & Science College Prep, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23
At Venice
DIVISION II
#4 Marquez d. #6 Narbonne, 23-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-16
DIVISION III
#13 Birmingham d. #2 Legacy, 25-20, 17-25, 31-33, 25-21, 15-10
SATURDAY
At Birmingham
OPEN DIVISION
#3 Chatsworth d. #1 Granada Hills, 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18
DIVISION V
314 Franklin d. #13 Rancho Dominguez, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16
SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS
THURSDAY
At Home Sites
DIVISION 9
Vasquez d. Tarbut V’ Torah, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10
FRIDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 1
#1 Mira Costa d. #3 Loyola, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22
DIVISION 4
Sunny Hills d. Royal, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23
At Home Sites
DIVISION 5
Bishop Diego d. St. Anthony, 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23
DIVISION 8
Temescal Canyon d. West Valley, 24-26, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23
SATURDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 2
Orange Lutheran d. Edison, 3-1
DIVISION 3
Windward d. St, John Bosco, 24-26, 25–21, 25-22, 25-20
DIVISION 6
Culver City d. Garden Grove, 27-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 15-9
Sports
It’s Game 7, and we have a bet locked in as the Cavaliers and legacies are on the line against the Pistons
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The NBA takes a lot of flak for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand it, watching on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have delivered over and over to viewers and rewarded us for putting up with garbage regular-season games.
This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series have been sweeps, and the other three have been six games. That shows competitive hoops. Now, how do we bet this Game 7 in the Eastern Conference?
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game all postseason, they took Game 5 in surprising fashion. It looked like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn’t lost a game at home in the postseason.
Instead, Detroit came out and blitzed the Cavs, never giving them a chance to get their footing. They lost in an ugly fashion and now have to figure out a way to win a game on the road.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half of Game 5 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Detroit on May 13, 2026. (Duane Burleson/AP)
It isn’t just the Cavs’ fate that rests in this game. It is also the legacy of James Harden and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Mitchell.
We know that Mitchell is a very good player, but he isn’t regarded as one of the best players ever. Harden is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in Game 7s. He’s averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. That’s not terrible, but looking at his shooting percentages, he is at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He actually is 4-4 overall in the games, but in his past three, he has scored a combined 34 points over 113 minutes.
The Detroit Pistons seem to like playing with their backs against the wall. They are a gritty team, so I suppose it makes sense.
Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren reacts after allowing a pass to go out of bounds in the second half of Game 4 of the second-round NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
Cade Cunningham continues to deliver for the team, and he finally got some help in Game 6 from Jalen Duren. This was never going to be an easy series for Duren, but it feels like he is taking more time to mature than others. He definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need from him just isn’t there yet.
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Now as the team goes home they will need Duren to be a beast on the glass. If he can keep the Pistons in the rebounding battle, they should win this game with ease. They won Game 6 by just three rebounds, but that takes away a big dimension of what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley do for the Cavs. It isn’t everything, though, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.
I don’t see this being a runaway game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham likely will cancel each other out with scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the floor. I haven’t seen him do that in the postseason, yet.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden talk during Game 2 in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Imagn Images)
This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both of the clubs, so it isn’t like either will be caught off guard about what this entails.
If I look at it objectively, I think the Cavs have the better players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and definitely in the playoffs overall. Both are prone to issues and slipping. The Cavs shouldn’t be as they are a veteran team.
This game has to be won by Cleveland, though. There is too much riding on the franchise and legacies of guys for them to not prepare properly for it. Maybe that’s weak analysis, but I’m taking the Cavs with the points and I do think they win outright. I expect a monster game from Mitchell, and Harden should get 10+ assists.
Either way, whoever wins will lose to the New York Knicks.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
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