SAN FRANCISCO — In a thrilling matchup on Wednesday night, Sabrina Ionescu played a crucial role in the final moments, despite her earlier struggles. She hit seven free throws in the last two minutes and executed a pivotal steal with just 26 seconds left, leading the New York Liberty to a narrow victory of 81-78 over the Golden State Valkyries. Breanna Stewart also shone with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Returning from a neck injury, Ionescu faced challenges, managing to score only 11 points on a 1-for-11 shooting performance. Her homecoming to the Bay Area, near Walnut Creek where she often attended Warriors games as a child, didn’t start as she hoped. At halftime, Ionescu was unable to score, missing all her attempts, including four from beyond the arc. However, she finally broke through with a 3-pointer in the final quarter.
Key contributions came from Kate Martin, who initially leveled the score with a 3-pointer with just over four minutes left and then pushed the Valkyries ahead at about two minutes remaining. Despite Martin’s efforts and a late 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to bring them within one point, her and Kayla Thornton’s additional 3-point attempts fell short.
Stewart was a dominant force, scoring 21 of her total points in the first half, and Kennedy Burke provided a boost from the bench with 20 points. Originally on a hot streak with nine consecutive wins, the Liberty (11-3) had recently stumbled, losing three of their last four games. This victory, however, continued their dominance over the Valkyries, having already defeated them twice earlier in the season in Brooklyn.
In the previous meetings, Stewart was particularly effective against the Valkyries, accumulating a total of 51 points on 16-for-26 shooting and making 18 of 25 free throws.
For the Valkyries (7-7), who had been on a winning trajectory with two recent victories and five wins out of six, this was a tough loss at their fully packed Chase Center, where they are 5-3 on the season. Temi Fágbénlé, who recently returned from representing Great Britain in the EuroBasket 2025 tournament, was present but did not play due to travel fatigue. Meanwhile, they were also missing guard Carla Leite due to a back injury.
The Liberty are set to continue their road journey with an upcoming game in Phoenix on Friday night. The Valkyries, on the other hand, will play host to the Chicago Sky.