Sabrina Ionescu did not mean to insult Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever after her New York Liberty lost to them on Saturday. Yet her postgame comments have been taken as an attack by fans unaware of her true feelings about the rookie guard, who recorded a triple-double in their latest meeting.
Following the Liberty's defeat, Ionescu told reporters: "We played 'Liberty basketball,' but it's [important to understand] that this is their Super Bowl game. We've beaten them three times already, and we knew they'd come really hungry. It's tough to beat a team four times.
"It's just tough in our league, especially with how [Indiana] has just grown, this young team. You've been able to see how much they've grown throughout the first half of the season. So ... we had to just come in with a sense of urgency."
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Some Fever fans on social media reacted to the mention of Saturday's game being like a "Super Bowl" as a slight of their favorite team, particularly because a New York reporter posted an incomplete version of it that went viral. But Ionescu has made it extremely clear that she's a staunch ally of Clark. In fact, the Oregon product might be Clark's biggest supporter among established WNBA stars.
Earlier this year, Ionescu spoke with Clark and encouraged the rookie to reach out whenever needed. Ionescu has left the door open to train with Clark next offseason. As a fellow sharpshooter who entered the WNBA will massive hype, Ionescu feels a kindred spirit with Clark.
"[Ionescu] does see herself as somebody whose path could be similar and actually told me when she came in, she felt a little isolated," reported Ros Gold-Onwude last month. "That there weren't vets who necessarily took her under her wing and became her OG."
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So, any suggestion that Ionescu would want to get in a postgame dig at Clark seems far-fetched. Her general frustration with her own team's performance was evident, though.
The Liberty have heated up in recent weeks, with Ionescu enjoying a surge in shooting efficiency. But she went just 9-of-23 from the floor in Saturday's 83-78 defeat. Indiana outscored New York by 12 points in the fourth quarter, handing a rare bitter result to Ionescu and Co.
Clark recorded her first career triple-double with 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds. Aliyah Boston , meanwhile, added 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
Perhaps the biggest difference from Indiana's losses to New York earlier in the campaign and what transpired Saturday was the defensive effort from its players. After the Fever began the season on a historically bad pace in terms of their defensive rating , they've made significant strides at that end of the floor in the past two weeks.
They held the Liberty to just 16 points in the fourth quarter and limited the visitors to 10-of-42 shooting from beyond the arc for the game.
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