Kayla Thornton knew there was a chance at shootaround Friday morning that Courtney Vandersloot was dealing with back tightness and could miss the Liberty’s game.

She hadn’t started since getting traded from Dallas ahead of the 2023 season.

Her role was still key on the superteam, though the minutes were inconsistent — especially in May, as the Liberty figured out rotations. 

And when Vandersloot didn’t play against the Mystics, Thornton started in her place and contributed 20 points, four assists and five steals across nearly 34 minutes in the Liberty’s 90-79 victory against Washington at Barclays Center on Friday night.

That saved the Liberty (6-2) after they built an early 17-point lead and watched it all evaporate by the fourth quarter.

Breanna Stewart shot 4-for-13 from the field — and 0-for-4 on 3-pointers — and Sabrina Ionescu managed just 24 points after a 15-point opening frame.

The Liberty’s sixth victory of the season and second in a row was an underwhelming one against the winless Mystics, but it was enough after Thornton finished with her most points in a game since August 2022. 

“Just staying ready,” Thornton said. 

Thornton’s stint with the Liberty dates back to the earliest days of the superteam being assembled.

When they acquired Jonquel Jones from the Sun, Thornton was also added from the Dallas Wings in the three-team deal.

Stewart wouldn’t arrive for another month.

Same with Vandersloot.

But there was a place for her in the superteam, even if it was a different role that mostly revolved around defensive contributions. 

“I was really happy that KT was coming here,” Stewart said, “because she’s, like, a b—h to play against — excuse my language. She’s just, like, really tough, and it really makes your life difficult.” 

The Liberty needed every one of those contributions from Thornton on Friday, too.

There were only four games last season when the Liberty needed to navigate without one of the stars that gave the group a superteam label.

The injury report had remained clean to start 2024, too. 

But Thursday, after Vandersloot was a late addition to the IL due to back tightness and eventually ruled out, the Liberty needed to adjust for the first time this year.

The Liberty have five games across the next eight days, starting Sunday against Caitlin Clark and the Fever.

The Commissioner’s Cup, which the Liberty won last year, begins for them in two days, too.

Coach Sandy Brondello doesn’t expect Vandersloot’s injury to lead to a long-term absence and anticipates her returning to the lineup for the Indiana game, but thought it was the “smarter thing to not push her,” she said pregame. 

For one night, though, it added a wrinkle to the Liberty’s quest for better spacing, movement in and out of the paint — anything connected to their offense, really.

Everything clicked at first.

Their work-in-progress offense found some fluidity — some normalcy — even as Vandersloot sat on the bench.

After Ionescu’s 29-foot 3 and a Mystics’ timeout, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton stole the ensuing inbounds pass for a transition layup.

The Liberty completed their fourth frame with at least 30 points this season, and attached to that was a 15-point lead. 

Then it became disjointed.

That allowed the Mystics to pull within four points at halftime, three at the end of the third quarter and then took a one-point lead with under seven minutes remaining. 

But eventually it was Thornton who provided the dagger, hitting a critical 3 with 2:06 remaining after Washington cut the Liberty’s deficit to four.

It was her fourth basket of the game from beyond the arc.

She connected on 50 percent of her 14 attempts overall.

And the Mystics didn’t get closer than that again. 

“It’s really hard to stay ready,” Ionescu said, “and I think that’s a mindset that you have to have. … I mean, we’re happy for her because hard work pays off.”