In a nail-biting finish, Sabrina Ionescu’s clutch performance secured a narrow 95-94 victory for the Liberty over the Chicago Sky, setting a positive tone as they head into the All-Star break.
Ionescu was unstoppable in the final quarter, racking up 12 of her leading 29 points. She went an impressive 4-for-5 from the field, including three key three-pointers during the crucial last 10 minutes of play.
The decisive edge came when Jonquel Jones clinched the game with a pivotal free throw.
With just under a minute remaining, Ionescu’s three-pointer expanded the Liberty’s advantage to five points. Fierce defensive efforts then forced the Sky into a critical 24-second shot clock infraction, leaving them with 31 seconds on the clock.
After a strategic timeout from New York, Breanna Stewart inbounded to Ionescu, who promptly hit another three-pointer, narrowing the Sky’s lead to just two points.
The Liberty needed a stop.
Stewart was called for a soft foul, sending her former teammate Courtney Vandersloot to the line with 26.3 seconds left.
Vandersloot split the free throws. Pauline Astier grabbed the rebound. The obvious answer was simple: Get the ball back in Ionescu’s hands and let her cook.
Astier found Ionescu, who dribbled around before driving to the lane for an and-1 layup that tied the score at 94 with 15.1 seconds left.
Vandersloot found Kamilla Cardoso, whose missed at the rim. Jones secured the rebound and was fouled with 3.4 seconds left.
Jones hit the free throw, but missed the second one.
It didn’t matter.
Vandersloot’s half-court heave was off the mark.
The Liberty picked up back-to-back wins for the first time in more than a month.
Monday’s overtime win in Dallas provided the Liberty with a little bit of relief. Their four-game losing streak came to a halt.
Maybe New York could garner some semblance of momentum heading into the All-Star break.
Ultimately, the Liberty found a way.
It got scary. The Liberty lost the third quarter and trailed by 12 with less than five minutes left in regulation. But New York managed to weather the adversity and keep momentum on their side every time the Sky tried to extinguish it.
Ionescu went 5-for-7 from deep and had four rebounds and four assists. Jones notched yet another double-double to finish with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Perhaps no one deserves this All-Star break more than Stewart, who had 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Speculation regarding Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s future in New York continues to swirl as she didn’t play for the third straight game. The WNBA trade deadline is Aug. 2.
The Liberty will now go on break for the next few days, with All-Star events happening in Chicago on Friday and Saturday. They’ll regroup early next week in Los Angeles to open the second portion of their season.