The NBA’s social media accounts proclaimed Sabrina Ionescu a key player.
It’s hard to argue after the Liberty superstar’s performance on Wednesday.
Ionescu scored a team-high 21 points, including two in the final seconds of the game, and the Liberty beat the Sun 71-68 to take sole possession of first place in the WNBA standings.
The Liberty has won six straight regular-season games against Connecticut since the 2023 season, and the win was their 14th in their last 16 meetings.
Ionescu made her first shot of the fourth quarter with 1:58 left to give Liberty a 69-68 lead. She missed her next two shots but made one more after Breanna Stewart blocked a shot by DeWanna Bonner in the final seconds of the game.
Ionescu dribbled forward, drove into the lane and took an off-balance shot for a three-point lead with 4.4 seconds left.
“I had missed two floaters before that and that was the deciding factor. I think my teammates just helped me out,” Ionescu said of the sequence that led to the decisive score.
“I’m going to play knowing I have another chance and believing in what I can do for the team. Obviously I know I’m going to score, but at the end of the day I understand what our strategy was and also make big contributions defensively when needed. … Overall, I just want to get better as a player. Having great players around me and holding me to that standard just helps me get to that level every day.”
Connecticut circled the 3-point line and made a pass before Ionescu made Liberty’s fourth block to end the game at the buzzer.
Stewart had three blocks in the final two minutes of the Connecticut game and finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds.
“In transition, it was literally one-on-one. [DiJonai Carrington would] “We’re going to attack downhill,” Stewart said. [Bonner]She knows the sequence of shot fakes, so she’s the one who takes the shot at the end.”
Courtney VanderSloot had 11 points and Jonquel Jones had 11 rebounds and eight points for the Liberty, which was without Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (knee).
Bonner led Connecticut (17-5) with 22 points and nine rebounds. Breonna Jones had 17 points and eight rebounds and Tayshia Harris had 11 points.
Stewart and Ionescu combined for 20 points in the first quarter to help Liberty lead 29-19, but were limited to 10 points in the second quarter, with Stewart and Ionescu each scoring four points, and the lead was cut to 39-38 at halftime.
VanderSloot closed out the third quarter with nine straight points to give the Tigers another double-digit lead at 48-38.
Bonner hit a long 3-pointer with 3:48 left in the fourth quarter to give Connecticut its first lead since 5-4, 66-65.
Wednesday’s game began at 11 a.m. as part of The Sun’s annual “Camp Day” for local kids and summer camps in Connecticut. Ionescu joked that she hoped the early start time was a one-time thing.
“Hopefully we don’t have too many more 11 a.m. games. It’s a bit early,” she said.
