Sabrina Ionescu’s record-breaking bench performance helped Liberty defeat the Wings and maintain playoff aspirations.
The New York Liberty were down by 15 points and in need of a spark late in the opening quarter of Wednesday night’s contest against the Dallas Wings, which was practically a must-win.
The flamboyant Frenchwoman hit a 3-pointer to reduce the margin to 12 points before opening the second quarter with two additional triples.
A few minutes later, she passed Michaela Onyenwere a dime before tying the score with a layup.
The team pulled away in the waning seconds of the fourth quarter to win 91-73, improving to 14-20 and moving into a four-way tie for seventh place.
Johannes led the turnaround with her 13 points and two assists on 5 of 7 shooting from the field, but she was not the only star of the show.
Together with Sami Whitcomb , who also significantly contributed to the comeback, these two players headed a potent bench offense that scored 50 points on 17 of 29 field goal attempts.
According to Across the Timeline, that was the fourth-highest bench performance in franchise history and the highest bench performance by any team in the league this season.
It’s simple, according to Sandy Brondello, Liberty’s head coach. “Basketball is all about your ability to run and get stops.
The Liberty is incredibly difficult to defeat when Ionescu is receiving assistance as she did against the Wings.