NEW YORK — On the day the New York Liberty celebrated their 2024 WNBA championship with a ring ceremony and banner-raising, it was one of their newcomers who stole the show to kick off the season.
Point guard Natasha Cloud delivered a standout two-way performance in her Liberty debut Saturday, highlighted by back-to-back three-point plays in the fourth quarter that shifted the momentum in New York’s favor for good, to lift her team past the visiting Las Vegas Aces 92-78 in their 2025 opener.
Cloud — who was traded from the Phoenix Mercury in the offseason, first to the Connecticut Sun and then to the Liberty — had 22 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks. No moment from the game was louder than when Cloud completed consecutive and-1 plays early in the fourth, bumping New York’s lead from two points to eight.
An extended ovation from the Barclays Center crowd of 17,344 served as her “welcome to New York” moment.
“I came out of the next huddle and…
