After one of the most memorable shots in WNBA history that was pivotal in winning Game 3, All- Star guard Sabrina Ionescu went cold the rest of the game. On Sunday, New York Liberty player Ionescu’s performance was disappointing, as she made just one shot in 19 attempts.
Brianna Stewart wasn’t very impressive either, but MVP award winner Jonquel Jones helped her teammates swing the game in Liberty’s favor. Jones had an impressive game with 17 points and 6 rebounds, leading the Liberty to a 67– 62 overtime victory over the Minnesota Lynx. Jones also received the WNBA Finals MVP award for this stellar performance.
Stuart praised Jones’ performance, saying, “Her presence in the paint, her work for rebounds, and her work on defense is exactly what our team needed. She had to wait a long time, but she finally made it to the finals and won the championship. That was a really important time for her.”
Ionescu only scored 5 points, but she grabbed 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Stewart won just 4 of 15 shots and had 13 points and 15 rebounds. At the trophy presentation, Ionescu said, “We did what was necessary to win. I believed in my teammates, I believed in this organization. We couldn’t have done it alone, we did it in New York.”
The New York Liberty signed Brianna Stewart from Seattle, where she was a two- time WNBA Finals MVP, to bolster their team. Jonquel Jones, who lost in the 2019 Finals with Connecticut, was also added to the Liberty team along with Ionescu. The trio led the team to the finals last year, and is the winningest team this season. But Ionescu’s and Stuart’s failure to play seemed to suggest that their efforts would not pay off.
After Ionescu missed her first 13 shots, she finally made her only shot with a 3- pointer at the 3:10 mark. That gave Liberty a 56-52 lead. But when Minnesota took a 60-58 lead, it looked like the Liberty superstars would end the game in a bad way. Stewart missed two free throws with 38 seconds left, but Liberty got the ball again with Ionescu taking two , still missing.
In overtime, Leonie Fibich and Nyara Sabali scored for the Liberty and eventually won the match.
Ionescu’s 28- foot shot led Liberty to an 80-77 Game 3 victory. But she made 5- of-16 shots in Game 4, including no successful 3- pointers, and Stewart scored 11 points on 5- of-20 shooting. But Jones’ 6-6 performance gave the Liberty the help it needed. She was outstanding in the series averaging 18 points and 8 rebounds. In particular, she scored 10 points in the first half on Sunday, when Ionescu and Stewart combined to score only Stewart’s 5 points.
Minnesota Lynx coach Sherrill Reeve said, “We worked hard to stop Ionescu and Stewart, but that left Jones open. We had to take some chances.”