Sabrina

Ionescu

Ionescu was one of two Liberty players to find success on the offensive end on Friday in a game in which New York struggled greatly to efficiently put the ball in the basket. Although the former first-overall pick didn’t have great accuracy as a shooter, she topped 20 points and led her team in three-pointers, while tying a team high in assists. Yet, Ionescu struggled down the stretch — she tallied nine fourth-quarter minutes and went scoreless on 0-of-2 shooting. With the defending champions now eliminated, Ionescu will hit unrestricted free agency as one of the best players on the market.

Ionescu struggled with efficiency during Game 1 against the Mercury. Both Kahleah Copper and Monique Akoa Makani did an exceptional job crowding Ionescu’s space to make it difficult for her to get quality paint touches. But, Ionescu did hit key shots and make key plays when it really mattered for the Liberty. She kept her team in the game in the second quarter by scoring nine of her total 16 points when the Mercury scored 30 points to the Liberty’s 27. Ionescu had two pivotal assists during the overtime period, finding Breanna Stewart cutting to the basket before she left with an injury, and then Leonie Fiebich who cut backdoor and scored with 2:20 left in overtime. Ionescu passed league legend Candace Parker for 18th on the all-time WNBA playoff three-point make list with her 66th made postseason three.

The majority of Stewart’s field goals were assisted by Sabrina Ionescu, who found Stewart for all three of her shots on drives right at the rim, a spot on the floor where Stewart is almost unguardable. While she didn’t score as many points as Natasha Cloud, Stewart’s impact on both ends couldn’t be fully captured by how she stuffed the stat sheet. Stewart came up in the clutch for the Liberty especially when the team struggled to score in the fourth quarter. She made a tough hook shot over Satou Sabally to tie the game at 65 with 1:31 left in regulation prior to the game’s overtime period. Stewart scored an empathetic and-one on a drive to the basket following a pass from Ionescu with 3:01 left in overtime. Following the score, Stewart fell to the ground in a lot of pain, injuring her left knee, the opposite knee of her bone bruise from the regular season that kept her out for a month. Stewart left the game after attempting a free throw, and there wasn’t an update on her status following the game.

Meesseman provided a scoring punch for the Liberty off the bench spacing the floor well from beyond the arc while cutting at all the right moments inside of the arc. She hit one three-pointer on a drive and kick from Natasha Cloud and scored at the rim off a couple of well placed passes by point forward Breanna Stewart. Meesseman finished the regular season shooting a career-high 57.2% from the field which is an impressive feat after she came to the Liberty mid-way through the season and had to learn a completely new playbook with limited practice time. On Thursday night Meesseman rebounded and facilitated the ball at a high level. She and Stewart led the Liberty with six rebounds a piece while Meesseman found three different teammates in Cloud, Sabrina Ionescu and Leonie Fiebich all on back-cuts and scores to the basket.

On Thursday night Ionescu became the first player in Liberty franchise history to record 11 assists without a turnover in a single game. To end her regular season prior to the playoffs, Ionescu registered at least nine assists in each of her last three games which ties the longest streak in her career. She also recorded her 21st double-double of her career and fourth of the 2025 regular season. Ionescu’s 11 assists were to five different teammates including five registered alongside Breanna Stewart who she’s developed an almost telepathic chemistry with. Ionescu also made sure to find the Liberty’s other front court players in Jonquel Jones and Nyara Sabally for two assists each in addition to wings Leonie Fiebich and Kennedy Burke cutting to the basket off the ball.

Stewart led the Liberty in scoring while shooting an efficient 64.3%, her highest percentage since returning from being out almost the entire month of August with a bone bruise in her right knee. Stewart now has 41 career games of scoring 20 points on at least 60% shooting from the field, the eighth-most in WNBA history, passing Tina Charles. She scored over half of her field goals off passes from Sabrina Ionescu where the Liberty guard found Stewart cutting to the basket, hitting some open jumpers and running in transition. Stewart also had three assists of her own to Ionescu in transition and to Emma Meesseman who cut off the ball in two different quarter court sets.

While Ionescu was not under an official minutes restriction for Tuesday’s game, her 27 minutes were nearly five fewer than her season average (31.7). While the Liberty guard did not offer much in the way of scoring, missing both of her three-point attempts, she was effective as a playmaker for others. Ionescu finished with nine assists and two turnovers, with the former tally matching her total in New York’s August 25 win over the Sun. While Rebekah Gardner (three points and one three-pointer in 15 minutes) remained in the rotation, Marine Johannès only played the final two minutes. The minutes distribution behind starting guards Ionescu and Natasha Cloud (11/1/5 with one three-pointer) will be something to watch when the Liberty open postseason play on Sunday.

Ionescu, available after a four-game absence due to a toe injury, has been thrust back into the starting lineup for Tuesday’s game. As a result, Rebekah Gardner will come off the bench after starting and playing 23 minutes in Friday’s win over Seattle. While Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello did not provide a specific minutes limit for Ionescu, she may not have a full workload with New York locked into the 5-seed for the playoffs.

Ionescu has missed four games since injuring a toe on her left foot during an August 27 practice. The plan was for her to return after New York completed its road trip, which concluded with a win over Seattle on Friday. Getting Ionescu back, especially with the opportunity to play two games before the postseason begins on September 14, is enormous for the Liberty. With two games remaining in the regular season, the reigning WNBA champions are locked into the 5-seed for the playoffs.

Sabally won’t play on Friday, but she’ll dress and go through warmups for the second straight game as she gets ready to return to play. Head coach Sandy Brondello noted that both Sabally and Sabrina Ionescu are expected to play once the Liberty return to the east coast for their final two regular season games before the playoffs. Sabally will be a welcomed addition to the Liberty’s front court as she gives the team a different look in their front court. At her most healthy, Sabally presents a level of speed that’s difficult for opposing front court players to guard. But until then, the Liberty will rely upon quality minutes from Emma Meesseman in addition to Isabelle Harrison to give Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones a breather.