Sabrina Ionescu had a game-high 26 points and was 4-for-9 from 3-point range to lead the short-handed New York Liberty to a 96-75 victory Sunday over the host Atlanta Dream in College Park, Ga.
Breanna Stewart added 17 points and Jonquel Jones had 15 and 11 rebounds for the Liberty. Ionescu added 11 assists.
The win improves the Liberty’s record to a franchise best 15-3 through 18 games. New York has won 11 of its last 12.
The margin of defeat was the largest this season for the Dream (6-9), who have lost five of their last six games.
Atlanta was led by Tina Charles with 19 points. Cheyenne Parker-Tyus had 10 off the bench. The Dream played without All-Star guard Rhyne Howard, who missed her second straight game with an ankle injury.
Because of injuries and time taken off by Courtney Vandersloot after the death of her mother, the Liberty had eight available players. They were also playing their second game in two days after beating the Los Angeles Sparks Saturday at home.
New York’s offense shot a blistering 71.4 percent from the floor from the first half. Ionescu sank three 3-pointers, including one several steps behind the arc just before the halftime buzzer. She had 20 points in the first half.
The Liberty went on a 10-2 run in the first quarter to take a 17-9 lead with Ionescu converting a three-point play to cap the outburst.
In the second quarter, New York got production off the bench, with Marquesha Davis scoring nine points on 4-for-4 shooting in less than eight minutes of action, including a banked-in trey with 4:56 left to put the Liberty ahead 46-27. Davis’ nine points were a season high for the rookie from Ole Miss.
The Liberty’s 62 first-half points were a season high. The lead grew as large as 33 points early in the third quarter.
Charles now has 7,322 career points and is 58 behind Tamika Catchings for third on the all-time WNBA scoring list.
New York hosts Minnesota in the championship game of the Commissioner’s Cup Tuesday. The game is being played at UBS Arena since the Barclays Center is being used for the two-day NBA draft.
–Field Level Media
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