Sabrina Ionescu’s late trey gives Liberty 2-1 WNBA Finals lead against Lynx

MINNEAPOLIS – By her own admission, Sabrina Ionescu hit the biggest shot of her career on Oct 16, and yet she had no recollection of how it happened.

“I didn’t even remember it. I had to go look at the video to see how far I was,” the guard said.

Ionescu sank a tiebreaking three-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining, lifting the New York Liberty to an 80-77 win over the Minnesota Lynx in Game 3 of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) Finals on Oct 16.

Her shot from 8.5 metres, a few steps in front of the Lynx logo at midcourt, gave New York a 2-1 edge in the best-of-five series. The Liberty will have a chance to clinch the first title in franchise history on Oct 18 in Game 4 at Minneapolis.

Breanna Stewart finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds for New York. Ionescu, Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich each added 13 points. The Liberty shot 45.9 per cent (28-for-61) from the field, 40 per cent (10-for-25) from three-point range and made all 14 of their free-throw attempts.

Napheesa Collier led Minnesota with 22 points, nine rebounds and five steals. Kayla McBride scored 19, Bridget Carleton contributed 14 and Courtney Williams contributed 12.

The Lynx shot 38.7 per cent (29-for-75) from the field, 42.9 per cent (9-for-21) from beyond the arc and 83.3 per cent (10-for-12) at the free-throw line at Target Centre.

In front of a record home crowd of 19,521, the Lynx came out strongly and grabbed a 28-18 lead by the end of the first quarter, with Carleton scoring seven points. McBride was in dominant form with 13 points in the first half as she led the Lynx to a 43-35 half-time lead.

But with Stewart increasingly dominant, New York produced an 8-0 run in the third quarter and entered the fourth trailing by just a point. Ionescu set up Jones for a lay-up to make it 74-73, giving the Liberty their first lead since the opening exchanges.

Ionescu drained a three-point shot to give New York a 77-73 lead, but a Carleton lay-up and a pair of free throws from Collier tied the game. Then came Ionescu’s incredible three-pointer from downtown with a second left to settle what had been an enthralling contest.

“Obviously so emotional,” said Ionescu. “I trust in my preparation. I’m built for this moment. I missed one that could have sealed the game, and I just got an open look and I trusted that I could make it.”

Stewart said that as soon as she saw Ionescu get open, she knew her teammate was about to win the game.

“Sab has been giving us what she gave us tonight every single game this season,” the forward said. “She has worked really hard for this moment.

“Once she put it up there, I was like, it’s going to go in. And we worked hard. This was a tough game in front of a tough crowd. We never doubted ourselves and continued to fight and get that win.”

After losing the opening game at home, New York dominated Game 2 and now have a chance to clinch the title but Stewart said the focus had to remain on the task at hand.

“We haven’t done anything,” she said. “We’re just getting started. We know that now we’re up 2-1, but we have another huge game on Friday and a quick turnaround, so we need to be ready.”

Off the court, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was named to the All-WNBA first team on Oct 16, becoming the first rookie in 16 years to earn the honour.

The 22-year-old joined Collier, league Most Valuable Player (MVP) A’ja Wilson of the Las Vegas Aces, Stewart and Connecticut Sun’s Alyssa Thomas on the first team. Wilson and Collier, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year, received unanimous first-team votes. It is the sixth first-team honour and seventh overall for Stewart, also a two-time league MVP.

Clark received 52 first-team votes, fourth-most overall. She also finished fourth in MVP voting. She is the first rookie named to the first team since Candace Parker in 2008. Sue Bird (2002), Tamika Catchings (2002) and Diana Taurasi (2004) were also first-team rookies.

The Fever star will now turn her attention to the pro-am competition at The Annika driven by Gainbridge on Nov 13 at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, where she will play nine holes with Nelly Korda, the world’s No. 1 golf player. REUTERS, AFP