Julie Vanloo turns a crushing cut into a stellar Liberty debut: 12 points, 11 assists

NEW YORK (AP) — Julie Vanloo was ready to go home to Belgium and give up on her WNBA dream. She was cut for the second straight year from a team earlier this week when the Los Angeles Sparks waived her.

A call with her mom convinced her to stick it out and Vanloo soon after signed with the New York Liberty on a hardship contract.

“It was a tough week. I’m a little bit overwhelmed and I’m just trying to take it all in,” Vanloo said. “Just being waived, trying to stay positive, trying to stay confident. I had a lot of conversation with my family and my close people, and I really wanted to give up and go home because I was exhausted from a long season overseas and from giving everything I had in training camp.”

Vanloo made the most of her debut with the Liberty on Friday night with 12 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds in New York’s 106-75 rout of the Connecticut Sun.

New York needed her as the Liberty were down to seven available players as Sabrina Ionescu (left foot), Rebecca Allen (left leg) and Satou Sabally (cyst) were all out with injuries. New York also is missing Raquel Carrera and Leonie Fiebich, who are fulfilling their overseas commitments and aren’t with the team yet.

So they reached out to Vanloo. She had been in Los Angeles, playing basketball on the famed Venice Beach to try and stay ready if needed.

She caught a flight from Los Angeles on Thursday night and landed at 1 a.m. Friday. She studied the playbook on the six-hour flight to New York and took in as much as she could at the team’s morning shootaround.

“I’m incredibly proud of myself because trust me, this is two years in a row and it’s not easy,” Vanloo said. “I just kept my confidence.”

Vanloo had been cut by Golden State last July and then was picked up by the Sparks on waivers soon after. She paid for her own flight that time and had to wait outside of Barclays Center that day until two hours before the game, when she finally cleared waivers and could join Los Angeles.

This time she was escorted right into the building by her new team.

“When she’s playing with confidence she can shoot the 3, pass the ball. I think she’s a great point guard,” Liberty guard Marine Johannes said. “She’s fitting with our style of play. Again really happy for her. I know she was tired. Great game for her.””

Vanloo said her mom stayed up in Belgium watching the game at 2:30 a.m. local time. She sent her a bunch of voice texts that Vanloo listened to after the game.

“She’s a basketball player and the more basketball players you get on your team, the better off you’ll be,” first-year Liberty coach Chris DeMarco said. “She’s a really good fit and you know she’s a competitor.”

New York also picked up Aubrey Griffin on a hardship contract. Griffin, who grew up about 45 minutes from Barclays Center, was drafted by Minnesota last season, but missed the whole year after having surgery on her left knee. She got to play in front of her family on Friday and scored her first career points on a layup with under a minute to play.

It’s not clear how long the pair will stay with the team. Once New York gets some of its injured players back they have to cut the hardship players.

Ionescu is out for a couple of weeks while Allen may be back for Sunday’s game in Washington. Sabally, who was a key free agent signing this offseason, is day-to-day according to DeMarco.

The Liberty also got Betnijah Laney-Hamilton back. She played her first game in more than a year after missing last season while recovering from an acute meniscus tear in her left knee for which she had surgery in March 2025.

Laney-Hamilton had 12 points, including one basket on a crossover that left the Sun defender on the floor.

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