Aided by their ability to eke out some close wins, the New York Liberty headed into the All-Star break on a positive note.
The Dallas Wings entered the break on an upswing of their own, buoyed by a 40-point victory.
New York puts its four-game winning streak on the line Wednesday afternoon when it hosts Dallas, which is on a three-game winning streak.
New York (14-4) is on its third four-game winning streak this season, the latter part of an 8-1 spurt. The current streak began with a 15-point win at Seattle on July 2 and the last three victories were by a combined 16 points.
New York headed into the break with a 95-87 overtime at Indiana last Wednesday. Sabrina Ionescu scored 34 points for her second-highest point total this season and had eight in the extra period after the Liberty squandered an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter.
After helping the Liberty to their latest win, Ionescu totaled 37 points at the 3-point shooting contest during All-Star festivities.
“As soon as I shot it, it looked good and I just went down and kept grabbing (basketballs) and was listening to the fans as they were cheering, knowing that they went in,” Ionescu said. “So they were my validation.”
Dallas (11-9) endured a 1-5 stretch from June 11-25 but is 5-1 over its past six.
The Wings cruised to a 107-67 victory over Minnesota last Wednesday that marked the largest margin of victory in team history.
Natasha Howard, who played with the Liberty the previous two seasons, totaled 28 points and 14 for her eighth double-double. Satou Sabally and Teaira McCowan added 19 apiece. Arike Ogunbowale tallied 18 points and a career-high 11 assists for her first career double-double as Dallas finished with 31 assists, the second-most in team history.
“I think we’ve just been playing together,” Ogunbowale said. “Anybody can get a bucket. We’ve been sharing the ball.”
–Field Level Media
