| GAME LEADERS | NEW YORK | MINNESOTA |
| POINTS | Sabrina Ionescu (26) | Sylvia Fowles (26) |
| REBOUNDS | Sabrina Ionescu (10) | Sylvia Fowles (11) |
| ASSISTS | Sabrina Ionescu (12) | Crystal Dangerfield (6) |
TEAM NOTABLES
The New York Liberty (3-0) defeated the Minnesota Lynx (0-2), 86-75, in their first meeting of the season. Tonight, the Liberty won their third consecutive contest, opening the 2021 season with the first 3-0 start since 2007.
Sabrina Ionescu posted the first triple-double in Liberty history with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. Ionescu recorded the 10th triple-double in the league’s 25-year history (9th in regular season).
Before tonight, no WNBA player had ever recorded a triple-double before her third season. Sheryl Swoopes recorded the first-ever WNBA triple-double on July 27, 1999 in her third season. The most recent WNBA player to record a triple-double was Chelsea Gray (7/7/19 vs WAS).
Game No. – Player – Date Accomplished
6 Sabrina Ionescu 05/18/2021
59 Sheryl Swoopes 07/27/1999
98 Margo Dydek 06/07/2001
126 Deanna Nolan 05/21/2005
148 Chelsea Gray 07/07/2019
230 Courtney Vandersloot 07/20/2018
235 Lisa Leslie 09/09/2004
250 Candace Parker 07/28/2017
285 Temeka Johnson 07/24/2014
Tonight’s victory also marked the Liberty’s first win over Minnesota since June 12, 2019 (75-69).
At Barclays Center, New York shot 44.8% from the field and 44.4% from beyond the arc. The team also connected on 87.5% of free throws.
New York finished the contest with 40 rebounds, outrebounding the Lynx by 4. The home team also finished with 24 assists, four more than Minnesota’s 18.
The Liberty held the Lynx to 37.8% from the field, which is the team’s third consecutive game holding their opponent to less than 43.0% shooting.
Key Runs:
Q1: After a slow start and going down 0-4 to the visiting Lynx, New York picked up the pace and ignited a 15-0 run to take an 11-point lead midway through the first quarter.
Minnesota came back with a 17-8 run of their own to cut the Liberty’s 11-point lead to a 2-point deficit going into the second quarter.
Q2: Minnesota tied the contest at 33 with 4:10 remaining in the half. The Lynx went on to take the lead by as many as 4 in the second quarter, outscoring the Liberty 24-20 before the half.
Q3: Out of the locker room, New York opened the second half on a 4-0 run to regain their first-half lead (47-45) two minutes into the quarter. The home team extended the run to 7-2.
New York ultimately went on to a 19-10 run to take a 7-point lead against Minnesota with less than two minutes remaining in the third.
Q4: The Liberty outscored Minnesota 24-20 in the fourth quarter.
Up Next: The New York Liberty will travel to Washington D.C., to take on the 2019 WNBA Champions, Washington Mystics on Friday, May 21 at 7 pm ET. The game will be available on YES/YES App and NBC Sports Washington.
PLAYER NOTABLES
For the third consecutive game, Sabrina Ionescu (26) and Betnijah Laney (20) scored in double figures for New York. Sami Whitcomb and Kylee Shook also scored in double figures today, finishing with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Sabrina Ionescu tied the game-high with 26 points on 7-16 (43.8%) from the field and 4-7 (57.1%) from beyond the arc. Ionescu recorded the team’s first-ever triple-double adding 10 rebounds and 12 assists on the night. She is the youngest player in WNBA history to ever do so, and just the ninth player all-time in league history.
Sami Whitcomb totaled 13 points (season-high) and 8 rebounds (career-high).
Kylee Shook finished the contest with a game-best +23 across 27:55 minutes.
Kiah Stokes made her 2021 Liberty debut, recording 6 rebounds in 10:51 minutes off the bench.
Minnesota’s Sylvia Fowles led the Lynx in scoring and rebounding with a season-high 26 points and 11 boards.
Kayla McBride added 16 points on 41.7% shooting from the field.