Sabrina Ionescu Milestone Game Gets Liberty Back on Track
UNCASVILLE — A stone's throw away from Mohegan Sun's blackjack tables and slot machines, New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu was on a different kind of heater.
Ionescu's 36-point outing was the largest individual number in the New York Sunday box score, which produced an 87-78 final in favor of the Liberty over the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville. That ended a four-game losing streak for the seafoam savants, their longest in over three calendar years.
Though limited to only four assists, Ionescu also joined elite company with a first quarter helper to Natasha Cloud, becoming the second New Yorker to reach four digits in the category next to Teresa Weatherspoon. Only Weatherspoon and Ticha Penicheiro have reached the landmark faster than Ionescu, the Liberty's top pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft.
"It was a team effort," Ionescu said, refusing to take credit beyond saying she tried to "set a tone" during the opening period. "It took everyone being able to dig deep and be able to come out and be effective. I thought [Jonquel Jones] was huge for us in her ability to get in the post and be able to just be dominant down there, and then obviously inserting Emma [Meeseman], and being able to play like high, low action and just so many different looks. I think the ball moved really well tonight for us."
Incredibly, one three of the 36 was generated in the common currency of a Ionescu three, as the WNBA's reigning triple queen had but one on Sunday.
An improved mid-range game and interior infiltration allowed Ionescu to set a new career-best with 14 successful tries from the field, needing a relatively low 21 attempts to do so. The resulting 66.7 percent success rate is the second-best shooting game in the WNBA this season with a minimum of 20 attempts (behind only A'ja Wilson going 16-of-23 for Las Vegas last week in Los Angeles).
Such a box score created yet another milestone in Ionescu's already-storied career: Sunday marked Ionescu's second career game with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds, tying the WNBA record for most such double-doubles with the legendary Diana Taurasi.
At the forefront of the much-needed victory, the 500th on the Liberty ledgers, was Ionescu, who finally saw a masterful scoring performance rewarded with a win: with fellow superstar Breanna Stewart injured alongside depth stars Kennedy Burke and Nyara Sabally, Ionescu has willingly taken on a larger load on the Liberty scoring ledgers.
In the Liberty's first seven showings after the All-Star break, Ionescu has averaged 25.6 points, on an impressive 50.3 percent from the field. That was enough to earn Ionescu yet another Eastern Conference Player of the Week title but the more important metric, Liberty victories, have been a little harder to come by with the contributing triumvirate sidelined.
After a shell shocking 78-62 loss to the cellar-dwelling Sun on Friday, Ionescu took matters into her own hands in the weekend-closer, putting in 16 points in the opening period alone. This time around, Ionescu kept the momentum rolling even as Connecticut threw different defensive looks upon her. More importantly, she built much-needed chemistry with key metropolitan newcomer Emma Meessesman as one of the few New Yorkers that the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP hasn't played with yet.
"I think the second half was a great example of kind of being able to get the feel of the game, continuing to talk through what we see out there," Ionescu said. "I feel like the second half was pretty seamless [in] what we were looking for, how we were able to communicate. I've never played with [Meesseman], and so now it's like trying to speed up the chemistry by communicating and being able to figure out what she likes, what I like, how we can get each other going, and how we can play off one another."
"To be able to do what she did in her first game (11 points in the second half), I don't think many people could do. I'm super proud of her and her ability to stay locked in from the first to the second half and come out and help us win."
All that and more was enough to draw "MVP" chants from a visiting Liberty fan contingent, many of whom were packed into the Mohegan Sun Arena upper deck by a team-chartered bus that drove in over 200 season ticket holders.
True to form, Ionescu diverted the attention away from herself, at least from her more positive box score numbers: the point guard lamented that she would've flirted with a triple-double if turnovers counted, as she lost seven on Sunday.
"I had seven turnovers, so that [stinks]. I got to take care of the ball better," Ionescu said with a sheepish smirk. "But obviously I'm just playing at my own pace. If you asked me if I would have scored 36 points on one made three, I probably [would've said] that's not really what I had planned. I think it's just the ability to play at my own pace, be confident in what works, and every game it just looks different."
"I think being able to be adaptable and understand ways that I can attack and continue to get downhill to the free throw line, usually opens up the three-point shot. So obviously, [I'm] really happy with how we played. My teammates found me on a lot of cuts, and I think that's something I'm going to have to continue to do as teams are trapping, is just move really well without the ball."
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.