NEW YORK — Sabrina Ionescu scored nine of her 29 points in the final minute, Jonquel Jones made the tiebreaking free throw with 3.4 seconds left and the New York Liberty mounted a stunning comeback to beat the Chicago Sky 95-94 on Wednesday night.
The Liberty erased a 12-point deficit in the final five minutes, trailing 91-85 with less than a minute remaining. Ionescu then produced an extraordinary individual sequence — a contested three-pointer from the corner while falling out of bounds, another three, and a three-point play with 15.1 seconds left that tied the game at 94. The sequence gave Ionescu her ninth point of the final 60 seconds.
Courtney Vandersloot fed Kamilla Cardoso on a pick-and-roll, but Cardoso missed the layup and fouled Jones on the rebound. Jones made one of two free throws with 3.4 seconds on the clock, and Chicago could not get a final shot off.
Breanna Stewart finished with 20 points and nine rebounds for New York (15-12), while Jones recorded a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Rebecca Allen added 12 points. Ionescu shot 8-of-11 from the field, including five three-pointers, and was perfect from the free-throw line, making all eight attempts.
The evening belonged to Chicago's [Sydney Taylor](https://apnews.com/article/sky-liberty-score-d2e3ef191b31cfebe7e3b2af002bbfd1), who set a career high with 31 points for the Sky (9-18). Vandersloot contributed 14 points and Cardoso added 10.
Chicago had appeared in control after Taylor drilled a three-pointer to give the Sky an 84-72 lead with 5:30 to play. But the Liberty responded with a Stewart basket, a three from Jones and an Ionescu three that became a four-point play. When Stewart blocked Vandersloot's layup and scored at the other end, the margin was down to 86-85 with 2:35 remaining.
The Liberty now sit 15-12 in the WNBA standings, while the Sky drop to 9-18. Chicago returns home to face Connecticut on July 30, while New York visits Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Sources
