Liberty hold off Wings for 79–71 win without Sabrina Ionescu

The New York Liberty had a scare put into them by the Dallas Stars on Thursday night, barely avoiding an upset with a 79–71 win.

Dallas took a one-point lead with 6:47 remaining in the fourth quarter on a basket and free throw by Arike Ogunbowale, but New York answered with consecutive baskets from Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart to retake the lead and maintained it until the final buzzer.

Stewart scored a game-high 19 points (hitting 9 of 11 free throws), leading four Liberty players in double figures. She also notched seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Kayla Thornton added 16 points, as did Leonie Fiebich with seven assists. Jones scored 13 with 13 rebounds.

Thursday’s game was New York’s second game in a row at home against Dallas. On Tuesday, the Liberty defeated the Wings, 94–74.

New York improved its record to a WNBA-best 25–4, while Dallas dropped to 6–23, tied for the worst record in the league.

Ogunbowale scored 19 points with six rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks. Natasha Howard scored 16 points and Teaira McCowan added 14. Both Howard and McCowan grabbed eight rebounds, with Satou Sabally tallying seven of her own with five assists.

New York was without leading scorer Sabrina Ionescu, who missed her second consecutive game with a neck injury. Liberty coach Sandy Brondello described Ionescu’s injury as “tightness” before Tuesday’s game. Her status for Thursday was a game-time decision, but the fifth-year guard did not participate in pregame warmups.

Ionescu is averaging 19.9 points per game, just slightly more than Stewart, the reigning WNBA MVP.

The Liberty next host the Connecticut Sun on Saturday in a matchup of the teams with the top two records in the WNBA. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The Wings face the Los Angeles Sparks, who share the league’s worst record, on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.