UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Sabrina Ionescu had enough.
If the Liberty were going to end their four-game losing streak — the team’s longest since 2022 — she knew it was on her to do something.
So from the start of Sunday’s game at Connecticut, Ionescu went nuclear.
She scored 16 of her 36 points in the first quarter to help lift the Liberty to a 87-78 win and out of this godforsaken funk.
The M-V-P chants—potentially initiated by the over 200 Liberty season-ticket holders whom the team brought up for the game—began to echo for Ionescu as she approached the free throw line in the latter half.
Ionescu shot 14-for-22 from the field and finished just one point shy of matching her career high.
She also registered her first double-double of the season, adding 11 rebounds.
She also achieved her 1,000th career assist during the second quarter—one of her four in the game—by passing to a cutting Rebekah Gardner who completed the play with a layup.
Ionescu is the third fastest WNBA player to reach the career milestone, doing so in 170 games.
Only Ticha Penicheiro (134 games) and Teresa Weatherspoon (159) have eclipsed 1,000 assists quicker.
Ionescu had some help, of course.
New York, which is riddled with injuries, got a lift from Emma Meesseman in her Liberty debut.
The Belgian athlete, who took much of the first half to find her rhythm, ended with a modest 11 points, two rebounds, and three assists in her return WNBA game since 2022.
Jonquel Jones added 21 points and nine rebounds.
Sunday was a far better showing for the Liberty than the monstrosity that unfolded Friday.
New York was plagued by a season-high 23 turnovers and struggled against the scrappy Sun’s aggressive play, as five-win Connecticut triumphed over the defending champions by 16 points.
The travel-fatigued Liberty (18-10) will conclude this grueling segment of their schedule, featuring six games in 10 days, with a match against the Wings in Brooklyn on Tuesday.
