Sabrina Ionescu Saves Liberty in Unique Milestone Game
Like Tony Bennett before her, New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu left her heart in San Francisco, but she's more than happy to keep working on the East Coast.
Wednesday night marked a homecoming for Ionescu in more ways than one: not only did she re-don seafoam after a one-game absence due to a minor neck injury but the Walnut Creek, CA native played a professional basketball contest in Northern California for the first time in her career. New York faced the WNBA's newest franchise, the Golden State Valkyries, on the road for the first time, eventually escaping the Bay Area with an 81-78 victory that interrupted a brief losing streak.
In prepping for her career as a youth, Ionescu no doubt played out clutch moments in her driveway while growing up in Walnut Creek and did so again at Chase Center on Wednesday, albeit in a fashion she may not have fully envisioned. The point guard and New York's three-point queen was 1-of-11 from the field amidst a stifling trap headlined by ex-New Yorker Kayla Thornton, but she scored 10 of her 11 tallies a final period where neither team led by more than six.
"I think that it shows the great player that she is," teammate Breanna Stewart said in the aftermath. "Sometimes you're going to struggle, sometimes you're not going to make shots. Sometimes teams are going to make it really, really difficult for you. But, as a great player, you can't let your mind wander and lose focus in the game. She stayed locked in, and when her her time and her moment came, it was free throws, it was that huge deal at the end."
INJURED SABRINA IONESCU DPOY MOVE ON TIP HAYES!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/4WSxKNu41U
— Tanya (@ScriptedTanya) June 26, 2025
"That's what this team is about. Some people are going to have off nights, some people are going to have on nights, but we're all going to collect anew and make a difference around."
The former Pac-12 star's success with singles was perhaps hardly shocking — she's also the Liberty's all-time leader in free throw success rate at just over 90 — but the latest sign of Ionescu improvement (already on display through a bolstered mid-range came) came just before the shot clock turned off for good.
As reigning WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Tiffany Hayes drove for a would-be equalizer, Ionescu's pulled off a midnight robbery that sealed the Liberty's victorious fate. She then hit free throws on the other end to provide what proved to be the winning points, allowing the Liberty (11-3) to withstand a career night from Golden State reserve Kate Martin and for Ionescu to earn uncensored praise from Stewart.
"I probably said, like, big f***ing steal, because that's what it was," a smirking Stewart said. "It's tough sometimes when the ball is literally not going in the basket. [But], no matter what, she has a presence, and she she draws attention, whether she's making shots or missing shots. So that was big for her to just stay locked in and know that it wasn't exactly the night that she wanted, but that the win is what's what's most important."
"When it's crunch time, she really stepped up and made those free throws," head coach Sandy Brondello added. "So she's never, ever out of the game."
The entry of a Bay Area team likely created at least some disturbance in the seafoam fan Force, as sometimes the allure of playing at home serves as the most powerful tractor beam. Ionescu, however, reiterated that her new loyalties still sit back east.
“I’m where my feet are at,” Ionescu said, per Madeline Kenney of the New York Post. “I’m a part of a great organization here that drafted me and for me, obviously, it’s where I want to be for the rest of my career.”
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.