The New York Liberty are finally free of the anxiety of a potential regular-season sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Lynx. They do not have to worry about it anymore, thanks in large part to the big-shot ability of one Sabrina Ionescu.
The former Oregon Ducks superstar sniper helped the reigning WNBA champions avoid a fourth loss at the hands of the team they took down in the 2024 WNBA Finals, as Ionescu drained a dagger 3-pointer (plus a foul) later in Wednesday’s meeting between the Liberty and the Lynx in Minnesota.
With the Liberty ahead by four points with under 40 seconds left in regulation, Ionescu decided to go for it from way behind the arc. She also drew a flagrant foul 1 from a Lynx defender. Ionescu missed the first free throw but made the second to seal the deal for New York, which lost the previous three regular-season contests against the league-leading Lynx.
“Night, night,” Ionescu said in a postgame interview following New York’s 85-75 victory. She finished with 17 points and 11 assists across 34 minutes of action on the floor.
There is no denying that it was a big shot by Ionescu, but it also doesn’t even crack her personal top-three list.
“Probably not as high as the last one [against the Lynx.] Obviously it’s a huge dagger,” Ionescu said when asked to rank the shot she just made, per Madeline Kenney of the New York Post. It can also be recalled that she shut the door on Minnesota in Game 3 of the 2024 WNBA Finals with a clutch trey – also in the Twin Cities.
“It’s probably No. 5 or something,” added Ionescu.
Neither the Liberty nor the Lynx were at 100 percent on Wednesday, with the former missing the services of Breanna Stewart and the latter showing up without Napheesa Collier. But the absences shouldn’t take away from Ionescu’s dramatic night and New York’s triumph.
It’s not a stretch to imagine that the Liberty and the Lynx will cross paths anew in the 2025 WNBA playoffs, considering that they’re the top two teams in the standings through Wednesday. The Lynx are still way ahead of the rest of the league with a 28-6 record, while the Liberty are at the No. 2 spot with a 22-13 slate.
