Liberty Take Over Late for 81-78 Win Against Mercury

Thu, May 30, 2024, 3:36 AM
GAME LEADERS NEW YORK PHOENIX
POINTS Ionescu (22) Cloud (21)
REBOUNDS Stewart (8) Copper (9)
ASSISTS Ionescu (9) Sutton (7)

 

TEAM NOTABLES

On Wednesday, the New York Liberty (5-2) defeated the Phoenix Mercury (3-4), 81-78.

With the victory, New York tied the longest win streak against Phoenix in franchise history, as the Liberty won four consecutive matchups with the Mercury.

New York leads all teams in blocks on opponent three-point attempts so far this season. Five different Liberty players have recorded at least one blocked three-pointer so far this season. No other team has had more than three different players block an opponent’s three-point attempt in 2024, according to Her Hoop Stats.

All five of the Liberty starters took at least ten field-goal attempts in Wednesday’s win, marking the first game this season where all five of a team’s starters took at least 10 shot attempts. That only occurred four times league-wide in 2023, with one of those instances being the Liberty’s starters on July 25 vs. Seattle.

Up Next: The New York Liberty will face the Washington Mystics on Wednesday, May 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Barclays Center.

KEY RUNS

Q1: New York went on a 14-0 run from the 7:04 mark of the first to the 5:08 mark of the first quarter.

Q2: Phoenix went on a 12-0 run from the 7:54 mark of the second to the 4:52 mark of the second quarter.

Q3: Phoenix went on a 12-4 run from the 7:02 mark of the third to the 1:03 mark of the third quarter.

Q4: New York went on a 9-0 run from the 2:12 mark of the fourth to the 0:25 mark of the final quarter.

PLAYER NOTABLES

Sabrina Ionescu led the Liberty offense with 22 points and added four three-pointers to extend her streak of regular season games with at least one made three-pointer to 32, which is the longest active streak in the WNBA. Ionescu also finished with nine assists, the most of any player facing Phoenix this season, and she remains the WNBA’s all-time leader in average assists against the Mercury at 7.5 assists per game.

With 10 points and five assists in the first quarter, Sabrina Ionescu reached 10 points and five assists in a single quarter for the first time in her career. This marks the first time in franchise history that a Liberty player scored double-digit points with at least five assists in a single quarter, since the WNBA switched to playing quarters in 2006.

Jonquel Jones scored 10 of her 20 points in the final quarter and shot 63% (7-11) from the field in addition to seven rebounds and two blocks.

Betnijah Laney-Hamilton finished with 15 points on 55% (6-11) shooting from the field and has made at least one three-pointer in each of her last seven home games, which is the second-longest such streak of her career.

Breanna Stewart posted 13 points along with eight rebounds and knocked down all five of her free throw attempts for a team-high five free throws made. Stewart led all Mercury opponents in average points and free throws made against Phoenix in 2023.

Courtney Vandersloot scored six points and earned two blocks against Phoenix, with both coming on three-pointers. This is the first time a Liberty player blocked multiple opponent three-point attempts in the same game since Rebecca Allen in 2021.