MONTREAL — A Chaotic Finish for the Liberty vs. Toronto Tempo

The last moments of Sunday’s matchup between the Liberty and Toronto Tempo were nothing short of hectic.

Brianna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu spearheaded a fierce comeback in the second half, repeating their effort from the previous game. Unfortunately for Liberty, just like their encounter against Minnesota a day earlier, they fell short, losing 93-91.

With 8:56 left in the fourth quarter, Liberty was facing a daunting 15-point deficit. However, they mounted an impressive rally.

Stewart notched back-to-back steals; the second one set up Ionescu for a layup, narrowing the gap to three points.

In a pivotal moment, Stewart blocked a shot from her former teammate, Isabelle Harrison.

She then stepped up to the free-throw line, trimming the Tempo’s lead down to just one with 2:23 remaining.

From that point, the game was tightly contested.

With only 1:30 on the clock, Ionescu assisted Stewart for a layup that tied the game.

Things took an odd turn when Marina Mabry was seen with Jonquel Jones’ shoes, and Bethonia Rainey Hamilton was ejected after picking up two technical fouls.

Ultimately, Nyara Sabally’s layup secured the win for the Tempo.

Recently, Liberty has often found itself in the position of digging out of double-digit deficits. Jones emphasized after Saturday’s game that this needs to change.

Yet, on Sunday, Liberty found themselves in familiar territory.

Over the past seven games, they have trailed by double digits five times and are yet to win any of those matchups.

The team seemed to show signs of fatigue, playing their second game in 26 hours without two of their key players.

Leoni Fievic was sidelined due to foot soreness, while Sato Sabally was out following concussion protocol.

Stewart rebounded from a tough first half—she only managed four points on 2-of-11 shooting—to end with 22 points. Meanwhile, Ionescu had a standout performance, scoring 28 points and grabbing eight rebounds.