Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones led the New York Liberty to their 13th victory of the season over the Los Angeles Sparks on Thursday night in Barclays Center. Ionescu had 31 points and 9 assists and Jones had 22 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Breanna Stewart added 17 points, five rebounds and five assists. Lastly, Ivana Dojkic shot an efficient 3-6 from deep tallying 12 total points.
This was the first game for the Sparks without rookie and second-overall draft pick, Cameron Brink. Brink suffered an ACL tear in her last game against the Connecticut Sun. The already struggling Sparks lose their rim protector and star rookie.
Aari McDonald led the Sparks with 15 points however had the worst plus/minus of all players with -23. Zia Cooke, a second-year out of South Carolina added 13 on 4-7 shooting. Rae Burrell rounded out the double-digit scoring for LA with 11 points.
The Liberty were without Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, right knee, Nyara Sabally, back, and Courtney Vandersloot, personal absence. Vandersloot’s mother passed away this weekend and the Liberty had a moment of silence honoring her before the game.
The Liberty face the Sparks in a rematch on Saturday, June 22 at 3 pm.
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