WNBA Finals: Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart help Liberty bounce back

Before a sellout crowd of 18,046 — a Liberty record for most fans at Barclays Center — the veteran duo helped the Liberty beat the Minnesota Lynx, 80-66.

Ionescu — perhaps fired up after admitting to watching Oregon beat Ohio State in football late Saturday — had the towel-waving and swag-surfing crowd in an early frenzy to start the contest. She set the tone by scoring the Liberty’s first five points, securing 12 of her 15 points in the first quarter to help the Liberty sprint to a 31-21 lead. She shot on an astounding 5-for-7 from the field, contributing to the Liberty’s 72.2% shooting performance in the opening quarter as New York roared to an early 10-point lead.

By the time Ionescu finished her scoring assault, the Liberty were where they wanted to be after dropping Thursday’s opener, which saw Minnesota erase a 15-point deficit in the final five minutes. It wasn’t an ideal finish for the Liberty, but they immediately turned it around and didn’t look back.

Win a New York Liberty trading card when you subscribe!

Until the end of November, every new subscriber (and subscription renewal) to The Next will be entered to win a Panini trading card celebrating the WNBA champion New York Liberty — and yes, we can confirm it will be the Ellie rookie card!

Ionescu helped the Liberty limit the Lynx to 27 points, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter. The Lynx were held scoreless over the final 3:40.

“That’s really what my goal was,” Ionescu said. “Just take what the defense gives me and not forcing anything but understanding I’m going to be able to drive and kick. And players hit, multiple players hit really big shots. But obviously, I think coming out like that was great for us to get going. And then in the second half, they made some adjustments, and I think it was understanding being able to drive passing lanes and find the open man, if they are going to bring a few on the ball. So, I just did that. I don’t always need to be looking to score every single time I have the ball. Just continue to make the right read and understand what it is that provides our best offense as a team.”

Ionescu also ended with five assists and four rebounds. She surpassed Crystal Robinson for second on the Liberty’s all-time postseason scoring list. Ionescu extended her streak of consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer to 22 postseason games, passing Tangela Smith for the third-longest WNBA postseason streak. Ionescu has also made a three in a WNBA-record 81 games (combined regular season and postseason), extending her own streak.

Stewart’s defense

The Grinch arrived early in the form of Stewart, who finished with a WNBA Finals record of seven steals. She didn’t steal Christmas from the Lynx, but she did make sure the Lynx stayed at a safe distance.

Ionsecu handled the beginning and Stewart closed the door.

With Minnesota trailing 66-64 with 5:36 left and in possession of the ball, Stewart twice made steals on consecutive possessions to help the Liberty find its groove. Her dynamite defense ignited New York on a game-closing 14-2 burst.

During the final five minutes, Stewart showcased all the attributes that make her one of the best in the world. She followed up her missed shot in one motion to expand the Liberty’s lead to 77-66 with 57 seconds remaining. She finished with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds.

Want even more women’s sports in your inbox?

Subscribe now to our sister publication The IX and receive our independent women’s sports newsletter six days a week. Learn more about your favorite athletes and teams around the world competing in soccer, tennis, basketball, golf, hockey and gymnastics from our incredible team of writers.

Readers of The Next now save 50% on their subscription to The IX.

“Not letting history repeat itself, knowing that game one happened, but now how can we control game 2…Not letting them get to the 3-point line to set up their offense and inside out, whether I am helping, I know that Sab or whoever else is helping on my backside and making them moving a little bit quicker than they want to.”

Stewart’s performance made UConn head women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma proud, even though she had some fun at his expense postgame.

“I kind of texted him, and I was like, you know what, it’s about time that you come to my game,” Stewart said. “I’ve been here for two years, and he hasn’t come down. What are you doing? Yeah, CD (UConn associate head coach Chris Dailey) came, and she got that same message, too.”

Sabally’s spark

Sometimes, it’s not the number of minutes one plays but the impact of them that matters more. Nyara Sabally‘s energy and excitement during her eight minutes for the Liberty, finishing with four rebounds but, more importantly, a plus-nine, highlighted the importance of every team member’s role. Her rebounding effort extended possessions for New York.

“I feel like my role is pretty defined, and I always know what I need to do,” Sabally said. “I try to go out there and do it to the best of my ability. Just give a little push and a little lift, run the floor, set good screens, rebound the ball, and the coaches communicate well with me, and I just need to go out there and do it.”

Sabally’s contributions helped New York win the battle of the benches, 7-5. More importantly, like every other member of the Liberty, they understood the significance of finding a way to win. Leading wire to wire, the Liberty got a focused effort from all eight players who saw action.

Add Locked On Women’s Basketball to your daily routine

Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.

“It’s really important to set the tone early,” Sabally said. “I feel like we all did a better job just being aware of it. This is our home court, and we need to defend it. Last game can’t happen again, and I feel we responded well to that, especially when it got close in the fourth, and we showed a difference from game one.”

Sabally also mentioned that the crowd, which featured Jadakiss, Jennifer Hudson, and Common, among many other celebrities, added a lift.

“It always means the world to see that many people at a game,” Sabally said. “To me, it’s still crazy when I am out there, and I look around, and there’s so many people in this gym, especially coming from Germany. It’s cool to see that people love sports, specifically women’s sports. The fans in New York are really the best, and they are right behind us no matter what.”