After securing a tough-grit win over the Washington Mystics, the New York Liberty went into Gainbridge Fieldhouse and pummeled the Indiana Fever 102-66. The Liberty, continuing their dominance from last year's four-game sweep against the Fever, captivated a sold-out crowd with their fiery start and delivered an impressive performance.
The pre-game buzz centered around the eagerly awaited first matchup between Sabrina Ionescu and Caitlin Clark, but it was reigning MVP Breanna Stewart who stole the show. Last year, Breanna recorded two 40 point games against the Fever and continued her onslaught on Indiana last night. Stewie, familiar with lighting up the scoreboard against the Fever, mirrored her previous feats by kicking off the game with remarkable efficiency. She started the game hot on 5-7 shooting from the field and ended the first quarter with 11 points. This marks the 14th time in her career scoring double digit points in a quarter against the Fever, her most against any opponent.
Stewie ended the game with 31 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists but it was her impact on defense that helped keep the Fever under 70 points. Indiana was 1 of 12 from the field with Stewie as the primary defender as reported by Michael Voepel, ESPN via X. She ended the game with 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
Going into this matchup, there were a lot of questions on the Liberty’s perimeter defense and who will be charged with the tax of guarding Caitlin Clark. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton stepped up to the challenge and held Clark under double figures. Clark ended the game with 9 points, she shot 1 of 7 from, was -24 on the plus/minus and only attempted 8 shots. Betnijah ended the game with a +43 plus/minus, a franchise record.
Sabrina Ionescu finished the game with 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and hit 2 threes which extended her streak of 27 consecutive games with at least one made three. She didn’t not shoot great from the three but did other things to contribute by attacking the paint with her floater. When asked about her attack, Sabrina said, “I’ve worked a lot in the offseason on my floater and being able to get into the paint, knowing my shots not going to be able to go in every single night, obviously continuing to trust it, I’ve put in a lot of work into it and shooters are going to keep shooting, & knowing that’s going to be able to open up the floor for us offensively”.
Jonquel Jones recorded a double-double, finishing the game with 14 points, and 10 rebounds but it was the physical play between Jonquel and the Fever’s second year player, Aliyah Boston that began a chippy with the two having to be separated. Despite the physical play, the Liberty front court was too much for Indiana, they combined for 45 points, 20 rebounds and 8 assists.
New York finished with 29 second-chance points in the win and are now on a seven-game win streak against the Fever. The New York Liberty will face the Indiana Fever on Saturday, May 18 at 1 p.m. ET at Barclays Center for the team’s much anticipated home opener.
Game Notes: credit (NY Liberty)
LIBERTY 102 | FEVER 66
(2-0) (0-2)
May 16, 2024
KEY RUNS
Q1: New York went on a 11-3 run from the 8:04 mark of the first to the 3:59 mark of the first quarter.
Q2: New York went on a 15-2 run from the 5:55 mark of the second to the 1:28 mark of the second quarter.
Q3: Indiana went on a 12-0 run from the 3:50 mark of the third to the 0:34 mark of the third quarter.
Q4: New York went on an 30-8 run from the 8:39 mark of the fourth to the 0:57 mark of the final quarter.