Photo: “Sabrina Ionescu 2022 (2)” by John Mac is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
The New York Liberty snapped a two-game losing streak on Wednesday with a tough 81-78 victory over the Phoenix Mercury.
The leading scorer for the Liberty in the win was Sabrina Ionescu, who had 22 points.
Three other New York players who scored in double-digits were Breanna Stewart (13), Jonquel Jones (20), and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton (15).
Natasha Cloud was the Mercury’s leading scorer in the game, as she had 21 points.
The Liberty had the advantage in multiple categories in the game, which included turnovers (11-13), blocks (5-2), steals (7-6), assists (19-18), and rebounds (39-34).
The Liberty also bested the Mercury at the foul line, with the team shooting 88.9% (16-18) and Phoenix shooting 76.9% (10-13).
Game Recap:
Liberty leads by 13 at the end of the first quarter.
New York started this game by charging out to a 22-8 advantage with 4:22 remaining in the opening period. Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Betnijah Laney-Hamilton went off during this run, as the trio scored 16 of the 22 points.
The Liberty would add 11 more points in the first to take a 33-20 edge at the end of the quarter. Sabrina Ionescu was on fire during this time, as she scored seven of the 11 points.
New York leads by three points at the end of the first half.
The Mercury would start the second quarter off fast, as the team went on a 13-3 run to clip the deficit to three points (36-33) with 4:52 remaining in the first half. Natasha Mack was big for Phoenix during the time, as she had four points and three rebounds.
Fast forward to the 50-second mark in the second quarter, where Phoenix would continue to chip away at New York’s lead, as Natasha Cloud would drain a three-pointer to take the score to 45-44.
But the Liberty would get a little breathing room at the end of the first half when Betnijah Laney-Hamilton would hit a layup to give her team a 47-44 edge.
The Liberty leads by one point at the end of the third quarter.
It was the Kahleah Copper show in the third quarter, as she scored six of the Mercury’s 15 points, including a layup at the 1:03 minute mark that gave her team the lead(59-58) for the first time since the opening period.
But Phoenix’s advantage wouldn’t last long, as Courtney Vandersloot would hit a layup with 23 seconds left in the third to give her team a 60-59 lead heading into the fourth.
New York takes home an 81-78 victory!
Diana Taurasi was a force for the Mercury in the early minutes of the fourth quarter, as she drained back-to-back three-pointers to give her team a 65-60 advantage with 7:52 left in the game.
Forty-seven seconds later, the Liberty would punch by dashing out to a 9-0 run to grab a 69-65 edge with 5:18 left in the fourth. Jonquel Jones was feeling during that time, as she scored five of New York’s eight points.
Starting at the 5:03 minute mark, Phoenix would answer back by going on a 9-2 run to take a 74-71 lead with 2:54 remaining in the game. Kahleah Copper continued her strong second half, as she scored five of the team’s nine points.
New York would come charging back, as the team went on a 10-4 run to grab an 81-78 victory over the Mercury.
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