– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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NEW YORK — Turns out that controversy surrounding Sabrina Ionescu and not heading back to All-Star Weekend to compete in the three-point contest had an easy explanation, at least after what happened during the final 50 seconds of the New York Liberty’s great escape on Wednesday night.
Ionescu scored nine of her 29 points in the final minute, lifting the Liberty to one of the most improbable wins of the WNBA season, a 95-94 win over the Chicago Sky inside Barclays Center in the final game before the All-Star Break. Jonquel Jones made the tie-breaking free throw with three seconds remaining after being fouled after grabbing a rebound on the defensive end, the only lead New York held in the entire fourth quarter.
New York was down by as much 12 with 5:29 remaining before Ionescu put on a All-Star shooting display, starting with a four-point play to cut the Liberty deficit to 84-81. The main course was soon to follow.
A la Reggie Miller against the Knicks, Ionescu completed three consecutive possessions with three points: two threes, including a running long ball from the near corner that brought the Liberty to within two, 93-91, before she drive to the basket that resulted in an and-1 with 15 seconds left to remarkably tie the score.
Earlier today, Ionescu addressed reports that she declined to be a part of All-Star Weekend in Chicago to defend the three-point contest title that she’s won the past two years, saying that the league did not invite her to participate. Well, now she can go into the break to recharge for the second half while still wowing fans with her behind-the-arc prowess.
Kamilla Cardoso found herself free in the lane cutting to the basket after the Liberty forced the final tie, but the center missed a short layup and then fouled Jones trying to grab the offensive rebound. Jones made the first and then intentionally missed the second, leaving the Sky with a halfcourt heave from Courtney Vandersloot that fell short at the buzzer.
Sydney Taylor continued her sizzling rookie season by leading all scorers with 31 points for the Sky. Vandersloot chipped in with 14 points and four assists.
Former Liberty fan favorite Natasha Cloud returned to the Barclays Center for the first time since leaving New York in free agency after her one season in the Big Apple, and she received a warm welcome from the crowd during pregame. Cloud finished with nine points and eight assists.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Wednesday evening’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Roberto Carlo. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 20 pictures in total.
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