Sabrina Ionescu posts second career triple-double in Liberty loss to Sky

Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty couldn’t quite hold off defending champion Chicago, but the former Oregon star put on a show in defeat. Ionescu posted her second career-triple double in the team’s 88-86 loss to become the fourth player in WNBA history with multiple such games. 

Ionescu posted game-highs in scoring with 27 points, rebounding with 13 and for assists with 12. She did so on efficient shooting, making 9-of-16 shots with 3-of-6 shooting from distance and a perfect 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. 

Oregon’s all-time leading scoring posted her first triple-double a season ago in a win over Dallas. She joins Sheryl Swoopes, Courtney Vandersloot and Candace Parker as the league’s only players with more than one. 

Vandersloot, who was also coached by Oregon coach Kelly Graves during his stint at Gonzaga, brought the Sky back for the win. She nailed a three-point shot with 0.9 seconds remaining to lift the visiting club to the lead. The Liberty struggled to get a clear look after. Ionescu had nailed two foul shots to put New York up 86-85. She scored the team’s final seven points. 

Ionescu scored 13 of her 27 points in the fourth quarter after securing her triple-double clinching rebound on the final shot attempt of the third. Her late game heroics included a deep three to beat the buzzer to put NYC up 82-77 with just under three left in regulation. 

.@sabrina_i20 from the logo for ???? pic.twitter.com/qUlt0ElyqV

— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) June 12, 2022

The Liberty were looking for their third straight win and fifth in six games to start the month of June. They dropped their final seven in May, and are currently 5-9 overall. 

During the month of June, Ionescu has averaged 24.0 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game, and 6.5 assists per game. She has made 48-of-87 shots from the field (55.2-percent) and 19-of-43 from three (44.2-percent). She’s also converted all 29 free throw attempts. New York is 4-2 this month.

Former Oregon teammate Ruthy Hebard did not appear in the game for the Sky.

Graves was in attendance to take in the game and watch several of his former star pupils duke it out.