Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu feeling ‘better and better’

Sabrina Ionescu had to watch helplessly from the bench last Sunday as the Los Angeles Sparks stole victory from the New York Liberty at the buzzer.

The four-time All-Star guard wasn’t about to let that happen Tuesday night in Las Vegas.

Coming off a two-point effort in the heartbreaking loss to the Sparks, Ionescu put up 16 points, hauled down 10 rebounds, handed out four assists and picked up a steal in New York’s 87-76 win over the defending WNBA champion Aces at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

“Moments like that can either make you or break you,” Ionescu said of the one-point loss in L.A, accentuated by Nneka Ogwumike’s wide-open 3-pointer at the end of regulation.

“It’s a long season, so for us it was just understanding we’ve got to come together, not let that happen again and continue to grow from it.”  

The preview of the June 30 Commissioner’s Cup final against the Aces went New York’s way from start to finish.

And Ionescu was at the forefront of making sure Vegas didn’t creep back into contention late.

After the Aces staged an 8-0 fourth-quarter run to cut the deficit to 78-70 with 2:40 to play, Ionescu calmly dribbled up court and drained a 26-footer to stem the tide.

The two-time Wooden Award winner and top overall pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft has only made six appearances, including five starts, this year due to ankle and back injuries.

Since her return however, Ionescu helped New York pull out a one-point win in Chicago last week on a lay-up with 10 seconds on the clock before putting together her best overall effort of the campaign in Vegas.

“I’m just better and better every day,” she said. “My body’s feeling better, getting back into the rhythm of playing competitive basketball.” 

Ionescu’s points-rebounds double-double was her first since last August, when New York (11-6) appeared poised to capture a second straight title before her ankle flared up and the Liberty went down to Phoenix in the first round of the playoffs.

Even after making her big shot in Vegas, Ionescu fed Breanna Stewart for another 3-ball just over a minute later and found Jonquel Jones for a 26-footer that provided the finishing touch with 21.6 seconds left.

The Big Three’s trio of 3s ended any hope of the Aces coming all the way back from a 19-point, second-half deficit.

The road win also rekindled the top rivalry in the WNBA. One that has seen either Vegas or New York capture each of the last four titles.

The Liberty dropped a tough four-game series to the Aces in 2023, watching Vegas celebrate its second straight crown at Barclays.

New York got revenge the next year, ending the Aces’ hopes of a three-peat by stunning them in the semifinals before surviving an epic five-game series with Minnesota to capture Title I.

But the Liberty didn’t even reach the semis last year and were not surprised to see Vegas grab its third title in four years.

“Just two of the best organizations in our league,” Ionescu said. “They’ve also paved the way in what they’ve done … winning multiple championships.”

New York did outlast the Aces to grab their first Commissioner’s Cup championship in 2023.

Vegas will be out to take the trophy back to Sin City and avenge Tuesday’s home defeat when the star-studded teams meet in Brooklyn next week.

Before that much-anticipated rematch, the Liberty will finish off this four-game West Coast swing in Seattle on Thursday and Golden State on Sunday.

The Storm (3-15) are tied with Connecticut for the league’s worst record and have fallen on hard times since losing Stewart to the Liberty via free agency prior to the 2023 campaign.

Stewart won two titles and WNBA Finals MVPs with Seattle, which has lost 11 in a row.

Second-year center Dominique Malonga continued to be a bright spot during a brutal season for the Storm.

She scored a career-high 37 points to go with 12 boards in Monday night’s 112-110 overtime loss to visiting Dallas.

The 20-year-old became the youngest player in league history to make 200 field goals.

This is the first of three meetings between the teams this year.

Last season, Seattle took two of three from New York. 

The Liberty averted a sweep with an 84-76 road win on Sept. 5 in the penultimate game of the regular season.

Tip-off at Climate Pledge Arena is slated for 10 p.m. ET on Thursday.

The game will air locally on My9.

GIVE ME LIBERTY: Three-time All-Star forward Satou Sabally started and went scoreless in eight minutes Tuesday before leaving the hardwood due to an apparent head injury. Sabally, who was forced out of Game 3 of last year’s WNBA Finals as a member of the Mercury due to a concussion, didn’t play in New York’s first four games this year while working up her conditioning. First-year Liberty coach Chris DeMarco revealed that Sabally didn’t go into the league’s concussion protocol following her departure from the contest. “She got hit in the face. She’ll be all right,” he noted. Sabally is listed as a game-time decision for Thursday. … After taking Mikel Brown Jr. with the sixth overall pick in Tuesday night’s NBA Draft and grabbing Joshua Jefferson at No. 28 later in the evening at Barclays, the Nets took forward Tyler Bilodeau of UCLA in the second round Wednesday. Biloudeau, who also played two years at Oregon State before finishing his collegiate career with the Bruins, averaged 13.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 0.6 steals in 26.5 minutes at the two schools.