Latest news with #SabrinaIonescu
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
The Liberty's unsung hero who didn't score a point in comeback vs. Dream
The post The Liberty's unsung hero who didn't score a point in comeback vs. Dream appeared first on ClutchPoints. The 2025 New York Liberty are good enough that they can beat any team in the WNBA, even on an off night. With the Atlanta Dream threatening to run them out of Barclays Center on Tuesday night, it took a little extra from an unlikely source. Advertisement Second-year guard Jaylyn Sherrod, mostly relegated to garbage time in the season's opening weeks, found herself on the court against one of the best teams in the league as New York tried to mount a furious comeback. The reason wasn't injuries or foul trouble, it was simply energy. 'It was still so passive…we needed some speed,' Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. 'It gave us a lot of energy, gave this a little bit of rest, but when someone plays that hard, the rest of them kind of react to it and I think she sparked it.' Sherrod missed her only shot attempt and played just nine minutes, but every one of them was impactful. Her spark helped turn a 64-47 deficit into a competitive game in the fourth quarter — a game that the Liberty ultimately won, 86-81, as their superstars stepped up, led by Sabrina Ionescu's 34 points. It was Ionescu's second consecutive 30-point game, making her the first player in the WNBA this season to accomplish that feat. Advertisement But if not for the spark that Sherrod brought, it may have been for naught. 'I think Jaylyn came in and gave us a lot of energy,' said Nyara Sabally, who got the start in place of an absent Leonie Fiebich. 'She kind of shifted the energy for us and [we were] just playing off of that.' The Liberty were coming off their first loss of the season, a 102-88 defeat at the hands of the Indiana Fever that will ultimately keep them out of the Commissioner's Cup final. For much of the game on Tuesday, the same defensive problems that plagued New York against the Fever were also a problem against the Dream. 'We just need to play harder sometimes,' Brondello said. 'It was too easy for them in the first half, it's not really what we had planned. We were going under everything and they're shooting threes and we didn't make them feel uncomfortable.' Advertisement The Liberty again struggled to guard the three-point line, often either closing out too late or simply missing rotations that led to easy looks. The Dream hit eight of their 12 threes for the game in the first half. After losing to Indiana, Ionescu talked about how constantly having to take the ball out of the basket kept them from setting up on offense. Sherrod helped make sure that wasn't necessary late against the Dream. So too did Sabally, for that matter. 'Her ceiling is so high and it's just a matter of keeping her healthy,' Brondello said of Sabally. 'We believe in her. She's just got this big, physical body…she just does so many things and she always brigns that effort.' Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu is on a historic run Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Much like Caitlin Clark did to the Liberty over the weekend, Ionescu put the Dream on their heels early on Tuesday. Advertisement She had 20 points in the first half on 7-9 shooting, sending the Barclays Center crowd into an increasing state of hysterics with each made three. When the dust settled, Ionescu came out of the game in historic fashion, joining Breanna Stewart as the only Liberty players to ever have back-to-back 30-point games. 'Sab's a scorer. She's continued to develop the ways in which she scores,' Stewart said. 'She's a shooter, she wants to go left, you know these types of things. Now she gives people different looks, whether it's getting to the basket, o-boards, finishes, threes, mid-ranges. The ability for her to score multiple ways makes it really hard for people to guard.' Next up, it will be a quick turnaround for the Liberty, who have to face the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday night in Brooklyn. The game will tip at 7 p.m. ET. Related: Gotham FC shows up for fellow New York champs as Liberty plays last Commissioner's Cup game Related: Natasha Cloud, Brittney Griner joyfully reunite before Liberty-Dream clash
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
The difficult lessons the Liberty received from 1st loss of season
The post The difficult lessons the Liberty received from 1st loss of season appeared first on ClutchPoints. Down two starters on the road, and on a poor shooting night to boot, the New York Liberty had too much working against them on Saturday as the Indiana Fever handed them their first loss of the season, 102-88. Advertisement Much like the game these two teams played earlier in the season, the Liberty let the Fever build a lead in the third quarter. This time, it was with a 25-3 run that turned a six-point Indiana deficit into a 16-point lead. New York never led again. 'They just plugged holes and plugged gaps and made it really hard for us to get into the paint,' said Sabrina Ionescu, who had a game-high 34 points. 'Obviously it's hard to win a game shooting 20 percent from the three-point line.' With Jonquel Jones still nursing an ankle injury and Leonie Fiebich with the German national team, Nyara Sabally and Kennedy Burke stepped into the starting lineup. Sabally, who has missed most of the season herself with an injury, had her best game so far, shooting 5-12 and scoring 10 points with nine rebounds and a career-high four steals. But after Burke got off to a historically strong start to the season from three, she had an off game against the Fever, shooting 1-5 overall and missing all three of her attempts. Advertisement 'She didn't make a shots like she had in the past, but we probably should have activated her a little bit more,' Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said of Burke. 'It's a situation she hasn't been in for us in a while.' The game wasn't all about the Liberty. Caitlin Clark, making her return after missing five games with a quad strain, positively torched New York in the first half, making six threes and scoring 25 points in the frame. She gave Indiana momentum and a lead going into the break, but even in the spurts where she sat on the bench, the Liberty couldn't get the stops they needed. Sydney Colson hit two second-half threes and Kelsey Mitchell hit a big one in the fourth. Advertisement 'We had so many breakdowns on defense,' Brondello said. 'They're pros for a reason, everyone can make a shot and obviously Sophie [Cunningham] made a few and Colson made a few, and [Lexie] Hull, and they're the daggers.' The first loss is a learning experience for the Liberty Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images The 2024 Liberty won the WNBA championship. The 2025 Liberty have not. Their 9-0 start was the best in franchise history, and even in their close games, they've had stretches of dominance — Saturday notwithstanding. Now with a 1 in the loss column, the team can step back and reflect. 'We're resilient,' Breanna Stewart said. 'If you compare to last year, sometimes that got a little bit shaky because we would just kind of crumble a little bit, and I'm confident in us, we know who we are and how talented we are.' Advertisement Schematically, Brondello identified problems with the team's defense as the Fever shot 17-35 from three. 'We just overhelped off the corners for no reason, we didn't have the second efforts to close out,' she said. The Liberty let mistakes compound, which tends to happen when New York can't get the stops it needs. It prevented the Liberty from getting going in transition. 'When we're having to take the ball out of the basket and we don't have our transition and push and flow, I think that's when we break down a little bit, and so I would say this is great learning for us,' Ionescu said. As for Stewart, who had 24 points herself and was once again a foul magnet (10-14 FT), she was able to take some time for self-critique. Advertisement '[I need to be] making better reads off the switches,' she said. 'They made it difficult, because there was constantly somebody there… and then collectively, our defense, we need to take more pride.' The Liberty are back home on Tuesday when they will face the Atlanta Dream at 7 p.m. Related: Natasha Cloud surpasses WNBA legend despite loss to Fever Related: Sabrina Ionescu gets 100% real on Caitlin Clark's big performance
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liberty's Breanna Stewart shatters WNBA record in performance vs. Mercury
The post Liberty's Breanna Stewart shatters WNBA record in performance vs. Mercury appeared first on ClutchPoints. Breanna Stewart made WNBA history during Thursday's matchup between the New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury. Advertisement In 37 minutes of action, Stewart finished with a stat line of 35 points, three rebounds, three steals, and two assists. She shot 11-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. Stewart made history in the process, per StatMuse. She broke a tie with Brittney Griner and A'ja Wilson for the most 30-point games on 60% shooting from the field in WNBA history. What's next for Breanna Stewart, Liberty John Jones-Imagn Images Despite Breanna Stewart's historic efforts, the Liberty were unable to get past the Mercury in an 89-81 loss. New York had a 65-64 lead going into the fourth quarter. However, Phoenix outscored them 25-16 in the last 10 minutes to stun the hosts and secure the road win. The Liberty lost Jonquel Jones due to injury, leaving the squad short by one starter as the Mercury took advantage. Advertisement New York struggled with Phoenix's physicality on the glass, losing the rebounding battle 42-32. The hosts also failed to protect the ball, committing 19 turnovers as they proved to be costly down the stretch. Only two players scored in double-digits on New York's behalf, including Stewart. Sabrina Ionescu had a rough shooting night against the Mercury's defense. She had 16 points, six rebounds, six assists, and three steals but shot 3-of-16 overall, including 1-of-10 from downtown. Natasha Clous came next with eight points and 10 assists, while Nyara Sabally provided seven points and seven rebounds. New York fell to 10-2 on the season, holding the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They are two games above the Atlanta Dream and 3.5 games above the Indiana Fever. The Mercury will look to bounce back in their next matchup, being on the road. They face the Seattle Storm on June 22 at 7 p.m. ET. Related: Liberty's Jonquel Jones suffers injury scare vs. Mercury Related: How Nyara Sabally's EuroBasket decision is already paying off for the Liberty
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Liberty vs. Mercury odds, tips and betting trends - 6/19/2025
Liberty vs. Mercury odds, tips and betting trends - 6/19/2025 The Phoenix Mercury (9-4) will turn to Satou Sabally (seventh in WNBA, 19.9 points per game) to help knock off Sabrina Ionescu (fourth in league, 20.8) and the New York Liberty (10-1) on Thursday, June 19, 2025 at Barclays Center, at 7 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime Video, FOX5 New York, AZFamily, and Liberty Live. New York won at home over Atlanta 86-81 last time out, and was led by Ionescu (34 PTS, 7 REB, 5 AST, 3 STL, 60.0 FG%, 4-8 from 3PT) and Breanna Stewart (23 PTS, 44.4 FG%). In its most recent game, Phoenix won on the road over Connecticut, 83-75. Its top performers were Alyssa Thomas (14 PTS, 8 REB, 11 AST, 50.0 FG%) and Lexi Held (14 PTS, 2 STL, 83.3 FG%, 2-2 from 3PT). Read on for everything you need to prepare before Thursday's game. Watch this game on Prime Video! New York Liberty vs. Phoenix Mercury odds and betting lines WNBA odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Thursday at 6:08 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub. Spread: Liberty (-11.5) Liberty (-11.5) Over/under: 162.5 162.5 Favorite: Liberty (-752, bet $752 to win $100) Liberty (-752, bet $752 to win $100) Underdog: Mercury (+525, bet $100 to win $525) Liberty moneyline insights The Liberty have won 10 of the 11 games they were favored on the moneyline this season (90.9%). New York has played five games as a moneyline favorite with odds of -752 or shorter, and won each time. The implied moneyline probability for this matchup gives the Liberty an 88.3% chance to win. In six games this season, New York and its opponents have gone over 162.5 total points. The Liberty have an average point total of 165.7 in their contests this year, 3.2 more points than this matchup's over/under. Mercury moneyline insights The Mercury have won two of the six games they've played as underdogs this season. Phoenix has played as an underdog of +525 or more once this season and lost that game. The Mercury have a 16.0% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline. Mercury games this season have had a combined scoring total higher than 162.5 points in six of 13 outings. The average total for Phoenix's games this season is 160.0 points, 2.5 fewer points than this game's over/under. Liberty vs. Mercury: Game time and info Game day: Thursday, June 19, 2025 Thursday, June 19, 2025 Game time: 7 p.m. ET 7 p.m. ET Stadium: Barclays Center Barclays Center TV channel: Amazon Prime Video, FOX5 New York, AZFamily, and Liberty Live Amazon Prime Video, FOX5 New York, AZFamily, and Liberty Live Live Stream: Prime Video Watch this game on Prime Video!
Fox Sports
a day ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Phoenix visits New York following Ionescu's 34-point showing
Associated Press Phoenix Mercury (9-4, 6-4 Western Conference) at New York Liberty (10-1, 7-1 Eastern Conference) New York; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT BOTTOM LINE: New York Liberty takes on the Phoenix Mercury after Sabrina Ionescu scored 34 points in the New York Liberty's 86-81 victory over the Atlanta Dream. The Liberty have gone 6-0 in home games. New York leads the Eastern Conference with 28.8 defensive rebounds per game led by Jonquel Jones averaging 8.1. The Mercury are 3-2 on the road. Phoenix is 1-1 in one-possession games. New York averages 10.6 made 3-pointers per game, 2.8 more made shots than the 7.8 per game Phoenix gives up. Phoenix averages 79.8 points per game, 4.7 more than the 75.1 New York allows. The Liberty and Mercury match up Thursday for the first time this season. TOP PERFORMERS: Ionescu is shooting 45.8% and averaging 20.8 points for the Liberty. Breanna Stewart is averaging 19.3 points over the last 10 games. Satou Sabally is averaging 19.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals for the Mercury. Lexi Held is averaging 9.9 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting 37.8% over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Liberty: 9-1, averaging 89.6 points, 34.9 rebounds, 21.7 assists, 9.8 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.8 points per game. Mercury: 7-3, averaging 79.8 points, 32.6 rebounds, 19.6 assists, 9.0 steals and 3.8 blocks per game while shooting 41.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.4 points. INJURIES: Liberty: None listed. Mercury: Megan McConnell: out (knee). ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar. recommended
