Sabrina Ionescu drops 33 points as Liberty fall to Dallas for second-straight loss
The New York Liberty dropped their second-straight game this season on Wednesday night, but Sabrina Ionescu more than proved why she was taken No. 1 overall in the draft earlier this year.
Ionescu dropped 33 points, 21 of which came in the first half, and recorded seven rebounds and seven assists in their 93-80 loss to the Dallas Wings at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The former Oregon star more than doubled her point total from their outing on Saturday, where she put up 12 points in her WNBA debut.
Ionescu finished shooting 11-of-20 from the field and an impressive 6-of-10 from behind the arc, too.
33 pts, 7 reb, and 7 ast for @sabrina_i20 in her 2nd pro outing! pic.twitter.com/wzfRr3un8S
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 30, 2020
“I definitely felt more like myself, more comfortable and more confident,” Ionescu said, via The Oregonian. “The game, obviously not happy because we didn’t win. So that part still isn’t up to my standard, our standard as a team and an organization.
“With the passes, we’re still getting used to each other. We’re still a new team — a brand new team with a lot of new faces. It’s going to take some growing pains. My (former) teammates know it took us some growing pains at Oregon as well and had to hit them in the head a couple of times to know that my passes were coming. It’s going to take some time and hopefully we can just keep building and getting to know each other.”
The Liberty were right in it early on, and trailed by just two points after the opening quarter. That, however, is where things took a turn. Dallas opened the second quarter on an 18-4 run that spanned more than six minutes, blowing the game wide open. They built up a 15-point lead at halftime, and extended it to 17 by the end of the third.
From there, even while putting up just 13 points in the final period, it was simply too late for the Liberty to come back. Dallas cruised to the 13-point win, its first inside the WNBA bubble.
Brought home the W! 💪#RISE pic.twitter.com/QqQH4sEMzt
— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) July 30, 2020
Layshia Claredon was the only other Liberty player to score in double figures on Wednesday night, adding 11 points in the loss. Arike Ogunbowale led Dallas with 20 points in the win. Moriah Jefferson added 13, and both Satou Sabally and Katie Lou Samuelson finished with 12.
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