BROOKLYN, NY- Sabrina Ionescu led the New York Liberty (4-8) to a 88-69 blowout win over the Minnesota Lynx (3-9) with 26 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
The Lynx had trouble early with five turnovers in the first quarter. Liberty capitalized with an 11-0 run to give them a 25-17 lead with 1:11 left in the first quarter.
Kayla McBride broke the run with a layup, however, Sami Whitcomb responded with a 3-pointer to close the quarter. New York entered the second quarter with a 28-19 lead.
Jessica Shepard opened the second quarter with a layup and was fouled on the attempt. She made the free-throw and Minnesota made New York miss two-straight threes.
After grabbing the rebound, Shepard passed the ball to Evina Westbrook for an easy layup. Still, Minnesota was down 28-24 against Liberty.
The Lynx barely outscored New York 18-17 in the second quarter but Liberty entered halftime with a 45-37 lead.
Sabrina Ionescu scored 13 points and closed the first half with a half-court buzzer-beater for New York.
In the first three minutes of the third quarter, Liberty went on a 9-4 run and had a 54-41 lead over Minnesota.
New York wasn’t done as they went on a 13-2 run which gave Liberty a 62-43 lead with 4:31 left in the third. Ionescu led the charge with 13-third-quarter points and New York entered the fourth quarter with a 74-48 lead.
The Lynx outscored New York in the fourth quarter, 21-14, but was ultimately dominated in their final meeting against Liberty.
Liberty resembled Golden State Basketball
The Liberty looked like the Golden State Warriors this game. After halftime, Liberty took control in the third quarter and outscored Minnesota 29-11.
Ionescu drained four shots from downtown and New York shot 12-33 (36.4%) from deep in total. Natasha Howard was the defensive anchor for Liberty with 11 points, three blocks, and a steal.
Rebecca Allen scored with 13 points, six rebounds, two assists, and two blocks.
Han Xu was Liberty’s second leading scorer with a career-high 15 points off the bench.
“We went back and we watched film and there was a lot of areas that we needed to improve inorder to win and continue to grow,” Ionescu said. “So, it’s really nice to see us bounce back and do that the night after.”
For Minnesota, Kayla McBride led the Lynx in scoring with 13 points but the team as a whole went cold.
The Lynx shot 22-of-67 (32.8%) from the field overall and 3-of-22 (13.6%) from deep. They also had 14 total turnovers.
Aerial Powers struggled, shooting 3-of-12 (25.0%) from the field and had two turnovers.
Up Next
The New York Liberty will travel to Indiana Farmers Coliseum to play against the Indiana Fever for the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup on June 10, 7 pm est.
The Minnesota Lynx will host the D.C. Mystics on June 10, 8 p.m. est.
 to a 88-69 blowout win over the Minnesota Lynx (3-9) with 26 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.){kind=link}