Liberty to Hold Exhibition Game at University of Oregon

The New York Liberty are going back to school.

The Liberty and University of Oregon women's basketball team announced on Monday that the Brooklynites will face the Toyota Antelopes of the Japan Basketball League at the Ducks' hardwood home of Matthew Knight Arena for an exhibition game on May 12. Oregon is the alma mater of 2024 WNBA Finals heroines and current sea foam savants Sabrina Ionescu and Nyara Sabally.

“As a player-first organization, we strive to be as collaborative and innovative with our athletes as possible,” Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb said in a statement. “Bringing New York Liberty basketball to Eugene with two program greats, Sabrina and Nyara, was a natural next step coming off our franchise’s first championship. We would like to thank the University of Oregon Athletic Department and Toyota Antelopes for their partnership in bringing this vision to life.”

New York Liberty Guard Sabrina Ionescu hold the Women's National Basketball Association Championship trophy over her head during the Oregon women's basketball game against Baylor at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene. | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Liberty also announced that they will unofficially top off their first postseason championship defense three days prior on May 9, as they will host the Connecticut Sun at Barclays Center.

Ionescu and Sabally burst onto the national scene as Ducks before the Liberty came calling at the WNBA Draft.

Under Ionescu's watch, the Ducks reached unprecedented heights, as her record-setting tally of triple-doubles guided UO to it first-ever Final Four appearance at 2019 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament. The Ducks were placed second in the nation at the end of the following season before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ionescu then became the first Duck chosen in the debut round of the WNBA Draft when the Liberty chose her first overall. She was one of three Ducks chosen in the opening round next to Nyara's sister Satou (2nd, Dallas) and Ruthy Hebard (8th, Chicago).

“I can’t wait to get back on the court in Eugene with the New York Liberty at Matthew Knight Arena," Ionescu, currently on a Nike showcase tour of Asia, said in the statement. "I’ve got some great things in store throughout the weekend for my teammates: past and present, Oregon Women’s Basketball fans, the Eugene community, and the SI20 Foundation. Sco Ducks Forever!”

After Ionescu left for the pros, Sabally rose from injury woes to earn All-Pac-12 honors in consecutive seasons before embarking on her own professional quest in 2022. She was the seventh pick in that spring's draft and she made her Liberty debut the following season.

“I am super excited to have this preseason game in Eugene," Sabally said. "I never thought I was going to be able to play on that court and in front of our amazing Duck fans again. I know Oregon is going to show out and it’s going to be an amazing atmosphere!”

Prior to the Liberty's victorious Finals run over Minnesota Lynx, Ionescu said she would dedicate a potential championship to the university, mentioning she was partly motivated by 2020's denied national title run.

"I feel like if we're going to be able to get it done this year, for me personally, it's all kind of part of the journey and I feel like a little piece of me will kind of be given back to the University of Oregon because I wouldn't be here without what that university has meant to me and how it supported me throughout my career," Ionescu said. "Not being able to get it done [in 2020] kind of has hurt, but it's just motivated me to want to feel that again."

This will be the Liberty's first game against a non-WNBA team since 2019 when they faced the Chinese women's national basketball team at Barclays Center. Han Xu had 19 points against her homeland in an 89-71 victory for the Liberty in its first unofficial game on Atlantic Avenue.

The Antelopes will have two games on American soil this preseason, as they'll also face the Dallas Wings in Arlington on May 10. Winners of consecutive JBL titles in 2021 and 2022, the Antelopes play their home games at Toyota Motor Aoi Coliseum in Nagoya. The team is coached by Yuko Oga, who played 23 games with the Phoenix Mercury during the 2008 season.

“We are truly honored to have the opportunity to compete against the 2024 WNBA Champions, the New York Liberty,” Oga said. “Our team is built on the spirit of constant challenge. Facing the Liberty will not only push us to grow but will also contribute to the continued development of basketball in Japan. We are deeply grateful for this opportunity and will embrace this challenge with everything we have.”

The Liberty's visit to the Pacific Northwest is the latest revealed stop on a de facto college homecoming tour staged amidst the WNBA preseason.

Oregon's Nyara Sabally, center, passes the ball out of the key against USC during the second half Jan. 30, 2022. Syndication The Register Guard | Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK

On May 2, Las Vegas Aces stars Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young will return to Notre Dame to face fellow former Fighting Irish star Arike Ogunbowale and the Wings at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center.

Later that night, LSU alumna Angel Reese will descend upon Baton Rouge as she and the Chicago Sky face the Brazilian women's national team. The Brazilians then head to Iowa City two days later to face Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on the reigning Rookie of the Year's collegiate stomping grounds at the University of Iowa.

The Liberty officially open their first postseason championship defense on May 17 against the Aces.

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