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Once again, Sabrina Ionescu was involved in the decisive play at the end of a WNBA Finals game.
But this time, the Liberty star found herself on the wrong side of the celebration.
Ionescu’s foul on the Minnesota Lynx’s Bridget Carleton with 2.0 seconds left in regulation led to the winning free throws in the Liberty’s 82-80 loss in Game 4 in Minneapolis on Friday night, setting up a winner-take-all Game 5 at Barclays Center on Sunday.
Ionescu committed the shooting foul as she boxed out on Carleton, who collected a rebound and released a putback in rapid succession after Lynx guard Courtney Williams missed a would-be-game-winning jumper with the score tied, 80-80.
Carleton made both free throws, and Ionescu missed her desperation 3-point heave on the other end as time expired.
Ionescu’s foul was the 14th of the night for the Liberty, compared to nine for the Lynx.
“We got no calls today,” an animated Sandy Brondello said afterward. “So do I need to talk up in a press conference? Because they were getting ticky-tacks. And we went down there and got hit and get nothing.
“All we want is fair, OK?” continued the Liberty coach. “So if we are getting hit, that’s a foul. You know, I’m one of the nicest bloody coaches in this league, but this pisses me off. Just be fair. If they’re getting hit, it’s a bloody foul.”
Ionescu scored only 10 points on 5-of-16 shooting and missed all five of her 3-point attempts. It was in stark contrast to Game 3, when Ionescu drained a 28-foot game-winner to put the Liberty up 2-1 in the Finals and on the precipice of the long-awaited first championship in franchise history.
Similarly ineffective on Friday was fellow Liberty star Breanna Stewart, who scored 11 points on 5-of-20 shooting and missed her first eight attempts. Stewart, who scored 30 points in Game 3, was the focal point of the Lynx’s defensive game plan, with Minnesota throwing multiple defenders at her, even when she didn’t have the ball.
“I think that I was going a little bit too fast,” Stewart said. “I just needed to slow down. They are sending multiple people when I’m slipping on a screen, stuff like that. A little bit better awareness on my part. But quick turnaround and be ready for Sunday.”
Stewart battled foul trouble all night, picking up her third late in the second quarter and her fourth during the third quarter.
Despite the stars’ shortcomings, the Liberty had a chance to win after Jonquel Jones’ three-point play tied the game, 80-80, with 1:10 to go in regulation. That remained the score on the Liberty’s next possession, but Jones and Ionescu both missed shots, setting up Carleton’s free throws.
Jones finished with a game-high 21 points, but she made only one field goal in the fourth quarter after starting the game 6-for-6, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range. Leonie Fiebich scored 19 for the Liberty in the losing effort.
All five of the Lynx’s starters, meanwhile, scored in double figures, with Kayla McBride leading the balanced attack with 19 points.
Williams had 15 points, while Napheesa Collier — the WNBA’s MVP runner-up — contributed 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists and four steals.
“Minnesota did what they needed to do here to tie it up, and now we go back home,” Brondello said. “We love playing in front of our home crowd. So it will definitely be another sellout, and it will definitely be loud. And we have to bring our A game.”
The Liberty cruised to a WNBA-best 32-8 record in the regular season, then rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs, sweeping the Atlanta Dream in the first round before beating the Aces in four games in the semifinals.
But they still have another dragon to slay.
The Lynx proved to be the Liberty’s toughest matchup this year, defeating them three times in four tries coming into the Finals, including in the Commissioner’s Cup in June.
Now, one game will decide whether the Liberty finally become WNBA champions or lose in the Finals for a sixth time.
“Short-term memory,” Stewart said. “All that happened tonight is the series is even, and there’s a Game 5, winner-take-all. We are going back to New York, and we’re going to get it done.”
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