Tag: New York Liberty

Sabrina Ionescu makes WNBA history with second-career triple double

Sabrina Ionescu becomes the fourth and youngest WNBA player to have multiple triple-doubles in their career.

Oregon Ducks women’s basketball fans know quite well how good Sabrina Ionescu can be. They could sense a triple-double coming like Obi-Wan Kenobi can sense the force.

New York Liberty fans are just beginning to get that sense as Ionescu became the youngest and just the fourth WNBA player to achieve multiple triple-doubles in her career.

Although the Liberty lost 88-86 to the Chicago Sky, the former Oregon great did more than her part with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists. She’s also the first player in history to accomplish the feat in three quarters.

New York won four of its last five games before this most recent setback. The Liberty is currently 5-9. As for Ionescu, she is averaging 17.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 5.6 assists a game.

Candace Parker, Sheryl Swoopes, and Courtney Vandersloot are the only three other players to chalk up multiple triple-doubles.

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Twitter reacts to Sabrina Ionescu’s historic performance for New York Liberty

New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu went nuts against Minnesota on Tuesday, and Twitter had plenty of thoughts.

Former Oregon Ducks guard Sabrina Ionescu had perhaps the best game of her professional career on Tuesday evening for the New York Liberty in their win over the Minnesota Lynx.

The former No. 1 overall pick dropped 26 points with eight rebounds and eight assists, on incredible 10-11 shooting from the field.

She is the only player in WNBA history to record 25 or more points, eight or more assists, and eight or more rebounds in a game while shooting 90% or more from the field – and she reached those numbers during the third quarter.

Ionescu earned her ridiculous field goal percentage, draining a half court shot at the halftime buzzer and hitting a handful of other deep three pointers in an all-around dominant performance that has never been seen before in the WNBA.

Ionescu’s performance caught the attention of seemingly everyone on Twitter during an off-day for the NBA Finals, and once again she is proving to be a catalyst for the rising interest in the WNBA around the country as the face of the team in the biggest media market in the USA.

Here are a few of the best of the best from Twitter during and after Sabrina’s dominant night:

Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu sunk this incredible half-court buzzer beater to end the second

What a shot!

Sabrina Ionescu just continues to hit bucket after bucket for the New York Liberty.

During Tuesday’s game between the Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx, Ionescu showed off her incredible talent by sinking this gorgeous half-court shot to beat the buzzer in the second quarter. If you’ve been keeping track of Ionescu recently, this isn’t the first time this week she’s drained a huge three from long range in an important spot for the Liberty.

This one, however, is as long range as it gets, as Ionescu’s actually a full step behind the half court line when she makes this stunning shot. Take a look for yourself!

Wow! Just a brilliant shot there from Ionescu to extend the Liberty’s lead at the end of the half. Talk about All-Star stuff right there.

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Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu drained a three-pointer from a country mile against Mystics

The distance never matters to Ionescu.

While the Liberty might have their pitfalls, Sabrina Ionescu rarely struggles to make shots. In fact, the point guard/shooting guard thrives as a pure shotmaker. To be a great shotmaker, you have to have confidence, no matter the opponent.

On Friday night, when struggling New York (12-point underdogs heading into the game) took on the buzzing Mystics, Ionescu showed she has no such issues with faith in her ability. And that faith certainly pays off with tremendous dividends.

As the second quarter wound down, Ionescu casually strolled toward the three-point line. Except she pulled up. Way up. The distance didn’t matter one bit.

It is honestly shocking anyone can be accurate from that deep. You naturally have to assume the basket looks incredibly big to a guard like Ionescu.

To add the cherry on top, the Liberty wound up beating the Mystics 74-70 behind 24 points from Ionescu. There are few better talismans for winning than a locked-in scorer.

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W Bets: Mystics, Sun, Sky among Thursday’s best wagers on an action-packed night

Looking at the best bets for Friday’s four WNBA games.

Welcome to Bet For the Win’s W Bets, where we break down, explain and bet on the WNBA. Today, we’re running down the first Friday slate of the 2022 season.

Season picks (record): 4-6

It’s Friday night and the W is sending us into the weekend with a quartet of games. From Connecticut playing on the second night of a back-to-back to Dallas and Seattle trying to live up to the hype of last season’s consecutive game-winners, each matchup should present a competitive and entertaining 40 minutes of basketball up and down the board.

Here’s a look at the matchups, odds, and storylines.

All odds via Tipico Sportsbook.

Sabrina Ionescu hits the 500-point mark in her WNBA career

Oregon Ducks women’s basketball legend Sabrina Ionescu reached the 500-point mark in her burgeoning WNBA career.

Everyone is seeing what Sabrina Ionescu can do on the professional level now that she is healthy.

The former Oregon Ducks women’s basketball legend reached 500 career points, albeit in a 79-71 loss to Seattle. Unfortunately, the Liberty have lost six straight after winning their season opener.

But Ionescu is having her best individual season after leading New York to a playoff spot last season. She is averaging 13.6 points, six rebounds and five assists a game.

Ionescu’s best night in 2022 came against Indiana on Friday the 13th. She scored 31 points on 11-of-20 from the field, seven assists, three rebounds, and four steals.

The Liberty will get another crack at the Seattle Storm Sunday, May 29.

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W Bets: Picks, storylines and more for Sparks vs. Dream, Liberty vs. Sky and Storm vs. Sun

Looking at the WNBA’s three-game slate.

This Wednesday, we have a star-studded three-game slate that should deliver plenty of entertaining basketball.

The Seattle Storm travel to Arizona to take on the Phoenix Mercury. The Chicago Sky will look for their first win of the season when they host the New York Liberty. Both the Los Angeles Sparks and Atlanta Dream will try to stay undefeated when they match up on Wednesday.

Here’s a look at the matchups, odds and storylines.

All odds via Tipico Sportsbook.

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Sabrina Ionescu fills the stat sheet in New York Liberty’s season-opener

Sabrina Ionescu dropped 25 points and dished out six assists in the New York Liberty’s season opener on Saturday.

Former Oregon Ducks star Sabrina Ionescu lived up to the billing as the No. 1 overall pick, dropping 25 points and dishing out six assists for the New York Liberty in their home opener, an 81-79 victory over the Connecticut Sun.

“It’s a great win for us at home,” Ionescu said. “We had a great crowd. Super excited to be able to start the season off like that.”

Ionescu was outstanding for New York on Saturday, scoring or assisting on 41 of the Liberty’s points, while shooting 10-for-18 from the field and 3-6 from deep.

“I think it was really just the patience and poise of our offense that led a lot of us to easy shots and shots that we normally make, and so I think that’s what we have to continue to do,” Ionescu said.

She now has four career games with 25 or more points and five or more assists, the third-most in Liberty history.

The Oregon legend got off to a rough start in her pro career, only playing three games as a rookie before missing the rest of the season with an injury. She rebounded to post strong numbers in 2021, and now looks like she is fully ready for her breakout into a legit superstar.

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WNBA Power Rankings Week 1: Sky, Sun and Storm looking strong ahead of season openers

Ranking the WNBA teams 1-12 ahead of Week 1 of the 2022 season.

Months have passed following the WNBA’s celebratory 25th season, one that saw the Chicago Sky win its first-ever championship 201 days ago. Headlines filled the eight-month intermission as notable players were traded, superstars switched teams, and coaches went to new organizations.

Alas, the dust has finally settled and the off-season is in the rearview. Now, each team has finalized its roster and is ready to roll into the 2022 season on an even playing field.

Where do things stand as the new season gets underway? We take a look at all 12 teams and rank them ahead of opening night with our first power rankings of 2022:

Nyara Sabally to miss first WNBA season due to knee injury

Nyara Sabally’s knee issues are not quite behind her as she will have to sit out the 2022 WNBA season due to injury.

Nyara Sabally’s knee issues just won’t quit.

The New York Liberty of the WNBA announced that the No. 5 pick of the first round will miss the entire 2022 season and will be ready for the 2023 season.

Oregon fans, as well as Liberty fans. were eager to see the younger Sabally finally play with former Duck Sabrina Ionescu. But that reunion will have to wait.

New York Liberty general manager Johnathon Kolb said that they knew Sabally missing the season was a possibility when they picked her.

“We knew heading into the selection for Nyara that there’s a very strong chance she will not play this year because of her current health condition.” Kolb said.

That health condition is her right knee, which has been surgically repaired twice and she tweaked it towards the end of Oregon’s season. Even with a knee that wasn’t 100 percent, Sabally was named to the All-Pac-12 tourney team.

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