Sabrina Ionescu Finds Silver Lining in Liberty Loss

Sabrina Ionescu found a fleeting silver lining buried in the New York Liberty's heartbreaking defeat to open the WNBA Finals.

Oct 10, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) saves the ball from going out of bounds in the first quarter against the Minnesota Lynx at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

BROOKLYN -- On the wrong end of one of the most heartbreaking defeats in WNBA memory, the New York Liberty opted to be a Gatorade ... or, in Sabrina Ionescu's case, Body Armor ... half-full type of team.

Fleeting optimism snuck into the Liberty's postgame comments in the aftermath of a 95-93 overtime defeat to the Minnesota Lynx in Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals on Thursday night at Barclays Center. It was, perhaps, the best way for the Liberty to cope with losing a 15-point fourth quarter lead in just over five minutes, making their path to their first postseason championship just a bit more difficult, as Minnesota now owns a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

"This is a series," forward Breanna Stewart said. "We wanted to really win, obviously, for homecourt. But the beauty is, we have another game on Sunday and we'll be ready."

Game 2 of the series will be staged on Atlantic Avenue on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. ET, ABC).

The heartbreaking defeat, defined by Courtney Williams' late four-point play and Napheesa Collier's winning jumper in overtime, buried some otherwise positive developments on the Liberty ledgers: Jonquel Jones had a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double and did pick up a foul until the 7:51 mark of the fourth quarter while Leonie Fiebich had one of the most prolific scoring outputs for a rookie making her WNBA Finals debut.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

Point guard Sabrina Ionescu, who paired four steals with 19 points (on 8-of-26 from the field) went as far as to find positives within the nightmare, reasoning that the Liberty nearly escaped from New York with a Finals victory despite dealing with Williams' heroic heave with just over five seconds remaining.

"We could have quit right then and there, and we didn't," Ionescu, who fouled Williams on the equalizing triple, said. "We chipped away. We had the last shot, even in overtime, to be able to send it to double overtime, and to be able to just see the resilience of of our group, just continuing to believe is something that we've been able to do all year, and it's going to pay off in the long run."

Williams successfully hit the ensuing free throw to put Minnesota up 84-83. The Lynx, perhaps engaging in what the Liberty should've done on the prior possession quickly fouled to shrink New York's already limited time. An unusual jump ball, called off a rare out-of-bounds touch call with no review, went the Liberty's way after a violation before Collier rejected Stewart's would-be winner. It went out of bounds with just a second left on the clock.

Ionescu inbounded the ball to Stewart in the paint and she got the shot up into a Collier foul before the second fully fell away. Stewart hit only the first of the ensuing pair but overtime was nonetheless forced and Ionescu felt the Liberty eeked out a moral victory in that regard, even if it won't count on the Finals ledger.

Oct 10, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) drives past Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) in the third quarter at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images / Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

"(Stewart) found a way to get open, I found a way to get her the ball, and she had a huge free throw for us that sent it into overtime," Ionescu praised. "I think it shows the resilience of this team, not just hanging our heads and losing it right there, but forcing it over time and just continuing to grind. Being able to do that just shows what we've been built to do all year long and now, into the playoffs, we have to just continue to chip away."

Further signs of metropolitan resilience linger in the extra session: held stagnant by turnovers on three consecutive possessions, New York trailed by four in the final minute before earning a speedy quartet. Ionescu converted her interception of a Williams pass into a floater before Jones duplicated the feat by victimizing Bridget Carleton.

Ionescu believes it's "all part of the story," one where there are still at least three chances to pen a happy ending.

"We lost last year in the semifinals, the first game here, and then we came back and we rallied and we grew. You can't get too high or too low, that's just how it goes," the shooter said. "We're in the Finals against a really good team. You're not just going to walk up and win each game by 20. It's just not going to happen."

"Obviously, this was a really winnable game for us, which (stinks), but it's going to help us, and it's all part of our story. We're going to be able to come back, grind, have a great day of practice, watch film and just be better and have to win the next game."

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