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Sabrina Ionescu Had Furious Two-Word Message for Ref Before Getting Technical Foul

Andy Nesbitt

Sabrina Ionescu had 30 points in the Liberty's loss to the Sparks.
Sabrina Ionescu had 30 points in the Liberty's loss to the Sparks. / @WNBA
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The New York Liberty were stunned at home Saturday night, losing to the Los Angeles Sparks, 101-99, on a wild last-second shot by Rickea Jackson. Sabrina Ionescu led all scorers with 30 points in the loss but she also had fiery technical foul called against after she was seen screaming at a ref after a tough foul call.

This all happened in the third quarter after Ionescu drained a three-pointer that would have made it a one-point game. The basket, however, was waved off after the ref whistled the Liberty for an illegal screen.

Ionescu was furious with the ref and could be seen on the broadcast yelling: "Tech me! Tech me!" The ref listened to her and immediately gave her a technical foul.

Here's that moment:

Here's the full play:

She literally asked for that one.

The Liberty fell to 17-7 on the season while the Sparks improved to 11-14.

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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.

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