Liberty head into WNBA break with ugly win over Sun

As they limped into the fourth quarter tied Tuesday night, the Liberty looked like a team ready for a monthlong break.

They’d played an exceptionally sloppy third quarter against the Sun and seemed desperate to simply get through the final 10 minutes before going on hiatus.

Thanks to Sabrina Ionescu, they’ll have nice memories of their last moments of game action until they play again.

Ionescu led the Liberty to an 82-74 victory over the WNBA’s second-best team with 30 points, including a 3-pointer that broke a 63-63 tie to open the final period off a steal from Kennedy Burke, who had a career-high four steals.

Ionescu followed her 3-pointer with a rebound to start a fast break that ended with her dishing to Burke in the paint for a 68-63 lead.

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It was the 13th time Ionescu has scored at least 30 points — setting a franchise record for most career 30-point games — and the Liberty improved their league-best record to 21-4, despite missing stars Breanna Stewart (load management) and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (knee) for the second straight game.

“She has to be the best point guard in this league, isn’t she?” head coach Sandy Brondello said of Ionescu after the win. “It’s just big time. Just her growth from last year. This is my third year, but from Year 1 to Year 2 to Year 3, I didn’t expect her to be as good as she is right now. She has greatness about her. She’s just consistent every single night. And that’s what greatness is, it’s bringing it every night. There’s no excuses. She’s always going to find a way, loves the moment, and those players are really special.”

It was the Liberty’s seventh consecutive victory over the Sun, including their first-round playoff matchup in the 2023 season.

Ionescu, who will be an Olympian for the first time, was not perfect, committing seven turnovers.

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But teammate Courtney Vandersloot scored eight points, and Leonie Fiebich and Burke had nine each.

“It was huge. We talked about it. At the end of the third, 10 more minutes we have to buckle down and play harder, get stops, and play our best basketball for 10 more minutes,” Ionescu said. “It was crucial to be able to get some stops. [Burke] got huge steals for us. Everyone just did a little bit more than what they did previously to help us get that lead.”

After shooting 4-of-6 from three-point range in the first quarter, the Liberty cooled off and went scoreless for nearly the last three minutes of the second quarter.

Things didn’t immediately improve for them in the third.

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With under seven minutes to go, Ionescu was called for a traveling violation — her fifth turnover of the night — that led to a layup from Chicago’s Bioanna Jones.

On the following possession, Vandersloot committed another turnover that led to two free throws from DeJonai Carrington, trimming the Liberty lead to 52-50.

Towards the end of the quarter, Vandersloot made a bad pass to lead to a layup from Carrington just before the sloppiness tumbled into a 63-63 tie at the end of the quarter.

The Liberty committed 21 turnovers on the night that yielded 21 points for the Sun.

It was a physical game that also saw two technical fouls and two challenge calls.

“It was just communication and just being gritty in those moments where we had that little slump,” Burke said. “I feel like Sabrina did a good job with just leading us and that’s why we got that win.”

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