Playing in their third game in five nights, Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty still managed to find a way to keep their win streak going after eking out an 82-75 win over the Connecticut Sun on Saturday to finish a three-game road trip on a high note.
The Liberty also extended their undefeated run to six games. Not only that, but they also became the first team to beat the Suns in the 2024 WNBA season.
The Liberty trailed Connecticut by five points in the early goings of the fourth quarter, but Ionescu made a couple of assists to Betnijah Laney-Hamilton and Jonquel Jones to tie the game up at 62-62. Ionescu later found Leonie Fiebich for a two-pointer that put the Liberty up, 64-62. New York did not look back after that as they took care of their lead the rest of the way.
After the game, Ionescu pointed to a particular decision made by head coach Sandy Brondello that sparked her in the fourth quarter.
“Well, she benched me after a turnover, and I got mad, Ionescu said.
“I know, I decided to make better decisions, understanding my legs were a little heavy. I usually make shots that I missed some of those tonight, and just trying to find different ways to get my teammates open, and coming off being a shooting threat, it just allowed me to be able to find [her teammates] cutting downhill, JJ [Jonquel Jones] spacing for a 3, Stewie [Breanna Stewart] in the corner for a 3, when we needed it. So I think it was just staying patient, but definitely lit a fire up inside me a little bit, and came out, and we just had to settle down and execute.”
Ionescu finished the game with 24 points, five assists, and two steals in 34 minutes.
- The Liberty improved to 10-2 after the win over Connecticut. Up next for New York is a date with the Washington Mystics at home this Sunday.