How Kayla Thornton helped the Liberty avoid disaster vs. Mystics

Kayla Thornton has never made a WNBA All-Star team but ask around and you'll find out that opponents hate to play against her. The ninth-year WNBA vet spent 34 minutes showing exactly why on Friday night in the New York Liberty's 90-79 win over the Washington Mystics at Barclays Center. It was the energy she brought on both ends while filling in for an injured Courtney Vandersloot, as she helped drag New York over the finish line against the winless Mystics. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, formerly of the Phoenix Mercury, recalled after the game how she dreaded facing Thornton as an opponent.