Ionescu’s Liberty Top Hebard’s Sky in Matchup of Former Teammates
After four years of competing together at Oregon, Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard faced off for the first time in the WNBA Sunday. Ionescu earned bragging rights over her former teammate, leading the New York Liberty to a 93-85 victory over the Chicago Sky.
Ionescu recorded a double-double with 19 points, 12 assists (tied career-high), as well as 5 rebounds, 3 blocks, and a steal. She sank 5 of the Liberty’s franchise record-tying 14 3-pointers in Sunday's game.
Ionescu’s three blocks are a career-high, and she never had more than two blocks in a game at Oregon.
Hebard has stepped in nicely for the injured Candace Parker, posting her second-straight double-double with 15 points, 10 boards, and a career-high 4 blocks.
Both teams came to play offensively in the first half. The Liberty knocked down five three-pointers in the first quarter, but the Sky led 31-28 after the opening quarter (31 points in the first quarter was a season-high for the Sky in a quarter).
Ionescu had an excellent start to the game, scoring 11 points and dishing 8 assists in the first half while shooting 4 of 8 from the field and 3 of 6 from three. Hebard on the other hand, struggled in the first half, scoring just three points on 1 of 5 shooting from the field.
The game was tied at 52 at halftime.
The two former Ducks turned it up in the third quarter. Ionescu hit two 3-pointers in a row, and Hebard scored 8 of her team’s 10 points over a four-minute stretch in the third quarter. The game remained tight, as neither team led by more than six points through the first three quarters.
After leading the Sky 76-72 after three quarters, the Liberty held on in the fourth to win 93-85, scoring their most points in a game since Aug. 25, 2020, when they scored 101 points against the Sky.
The Liberty improved to 4-1, their best start through five games since 2007. Next, they return home to Brooklyn to face the Dallas Wings Monday at 4 p.m. PT. The game will be available on the YES Network as well as the WNBA's official Twitter account.
The Sky fall to 2-1 and take on the Atlanta Dream Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network.
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