The Liberty put a capstone on their last game before the WNBA’s month-long hiatus for the Summer Olympics in Paris and Saturday’s All-Star Game with a 82-74 win over the Connecticut Sun at the Barclays Center on Tuesday night.
Team USA’s opening game versus Japan is on July 29. The Liberty’s Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu are part of a squad that’s pursuing the United States’ eighth straight gold medal and its 10th in the last 11th Olympics dating back to 1984.
But first Ionescu helped the Liberty cement the best record in the league prior to the resumption of their schedule on August 15. They are 21-4 and 2.5 games ahead of the 18-6 Sun. Four of the past six teams with the league’s best record at the All-Star Break went on to win the WNBA championship that season.
With reigning WNBA MVP, forward Breanna Stewart, sitting out her second straight game with a minor hamstring issue and starting guard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton undergoing surgery on her right knee on Tuesday and expected to be out four to six weeks, point guard Sabrina Ionescu continued to make her case as an MVP candidate, scoring a game-high 30 points on a season-high tying six three-pointers, pulling down six rebounds and handing out five assists.
The 2021 WNBA MVP, Liberty forward Jonquel Jones, added eight points, seven rebounds, two steals and a block for head coach Sandy Brondello’s crew that is off to their best start in franchise history.
Ionescu continues to impress her teammates, coaches, as well as the opposition with her all-around performances that have elevated the Liberty to the top of the standings.
“She’s always been a really good player, but she’s gotten better. She’s a different player this year,” Sun head coach Stephanie White said.
“Number one, she’s in fantastic shape. She can play a lot of minutes. She plays at a high, high pace and speed. Her change of speed is as good as anybody in the game—not just in our league, in the game. Her ability to use screens at the right angles to put you under duress, her release is so quick, and she’s become a better finisher going to the rim. You can tell that she’s put in the work.”