Sabrina Ionescu shoots her shot against the Indiana Fever during the New York Liberty’s home opener at Barclays Center. On Thursday night, the guard helped lead the team to victory in front of a record-breaking Brooklyn crowd.
Photo by Brandon Todd/New York Liberty
In front of the biggest crowd ever to watch the WNBA at Barclays Center on July 11, the New York Liberty faced a challenge heading into the fourth quarter, holding on to a one-point lead against the Chicago Sky.
A little over halfway through the fourth quarter, guard Sabrina Ionescu wrapped things up, hitting two threes in less than a minute to put the Liberty up nine. After starting the game 0-for-7 from the field, Ionescu finished with 21 points and six rebounds to help defeat the Sky 91-76.
Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello praised Ionescu’s resilience after picking things up later in the game. “I know Sabrina had a pretty, you know, her untypical start to the game,” Brondello said, “but you never can keep her down for more than 20 minutes, and she showed that in the second half.”
It was a great all-around performance for the Liberty (19-4), who had five players score in double figures. Forward Breanna Stewart and center Jonquel Jones combined for 37 points, with Jones also posting 13 rebounds and four blocks. Leonie Fiebich had 13 points on 4-for-5 shooting from three, and Kayla Thornton was a spark off the bench with 16 points and four steals.
It was a strong defensive finish for New York, which remains atop the WNBA standings. The Sky were held to just 7-for-20 shooting in the fourth, with Jones highlighting the performance with a big block on forward Angel Reese down the stretch.
Reese managed to barely record her WNBA record fifteenth straight double-double, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Guard Chennedy Carter looked impressive, going for a game-high 22 points and five assists.
Brondello noticed that Reese was able to continue her streak but was…
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