Sabrina Ionescu, Liberty Finally Master Mercury
BROOKLYN—Mercury was finally in retrograde for the New York Liberty this season.
A sterling showing from Sabrina Ionescu allowed the Liberty to finally get the best of Phoenix Mercury this season, as they took an 89-76 decision on Friday night at Barclays Center. It was the penultimate game of a season-long eight-game homestand and the Liberty's fifth consecutive win to extend the WNBA's longest active tally.
Ionescu scored 29 points on an 11-of-21 night from the field while dishing out eight assists. Hampered in the first two matchups due to injury, Jonquel Jones proved her impact with a 20-point, 11-rebound double-double.
New York (17-6) got back into the win column despite falling behind by as much as a dozen early on. Momentum began to flip when a Kahleah Copper drive created that fateful 12-point lead and a Liberty timeout. From there, the Liberty outscored the Mercury 19-7 over the final six-plus minutes, creating a tie game at the halftime horn.
From there, the Liberty cracked down defensively, allowing just 30 points in the second half. That's the second-fewest points a team has let up in any WNBA second half this season, behind only the 26 points the Liberty scored in the second of their last loss to Seattle on July 6. New York had that third quarter by 16 but has the period in each game of this winning streak, which included a 21-13 advantage on Friday.
Momentum didn't flip instantly, as the Liberty struggled from the field in the early stages of the third and allowed eight consecutive Phoenix points off turnovers. A media timeout a second past the halfway mark allowed New York to regroup for good.
Exhilarating doubles from Ionescu sandwiched a Leonie Feibich three, as part of the momentum-switching 18-5 win over the final five that created a lasting lead. It was capped off by a banked double in the corner from Jones, which drew some of the loudest cheers of the night from the Brooklyn crowd.
The Liberty wrap up this homestand on Saturday when they host a cross-coast clash with the Los Angeles Sparks (7 p.m. ET, My9).
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.