WNBA Finals: Sabrina Ionescu’s winning goal for eternity: “There was never a doubt”

MINNEAPOLIS — Sabrina Ionescu grinned, smiled, put her face in her hand and ran her hand over her signature ponytail. The timeline was still abuzz with reaction to one of the most spectacular throws in WNBA Finals history and to a heavyweight series already filled to the brim with it.

“I mean, that was just a great All-WNBA second-team performance,” Ionescu said coyly, avoiding any further discussion of possible motivation in declining the award.

New York’s three All-WNBA selections – two more than any other team – led the Liberty to an 80-77 comeback win in Game 3 at Target Center on Wednesday. Nobody had more grip than Ionescu.

She began the day as the All-WNBA first-team’s most notable snub, falling behind a number of frontcourt standouts, including teammate Breanna Stewart, who is monopolizing the league awards. She finished it with “definitely the biggest shot of my career,” a last-second 28-foot 3-pointer from near the logo that gave Liberty a victory in the franchise’s first WNBA championship.

“I really didn’t realize how far out I was,” Ionescu said.

Ionescu juked Kayla McBride, stepped left and fired a long shot a few steps from the Lynx logo at midfield to calm the franchise-record sellout crowd of 19,521 fans. Call it retaliation for the stunned silence the Lynx plunged the Barclays Center into to end Game 1.

“A great player made a good shot,” McBride said. “I guarded her for 40 minutes.”

The attempt was in perfect motion, a shot she has practiced hundreds of times and which reminds those who didn’t know or perhaps have forgotten that she was firing those shots in this league years before Caitlin Clark made it a national obsession made.

Ionescu was also a highly regarded and sought-after No. 1 overall pick, the Liberty was thrilled to win draft rights with their first-ever top pick in 2020. It changed the franchise, a dynamic that depended on the luck of the lottery and led to a superteam and potentially uncharted territory. The plan was always to take them to their first title, which they had missed in four trips before their arrival – New York is the only original franchise without a trophy.

Ionescu didn’t start Game 3 well. The guard didn’t attempt a shot and was held scoreless in a sloppy first quarter that the Lynx eventually won 28-18 after falling into deep early holes for two games. The Liberty found their footing in the second quarter, but their head of the line still only had a bucket next to their name. She came up empty on three 3-point attempts as New York came within eight points after trailing by as many as 15 early in the second half.

“I think we were all just waiting for our moment and for the script to change a little bit,” Stewart said. “They talked about the first five minutes that they were going to come out with punches. They hit us in the face in the first quarter. And we continued to wear them down.”

Ionescu’s first three-pointer in the final minute of the third period brought the Liberty back to within six points. Jonquel Jones, a second-team All-WNBA selection, blocked Napheesa Collier and Stewart made contact on the other end. Stewart went on a five-point run to bring the Liberty within one point at 62-61.

Stewart tied the game twice in the first four minutes as he led the way for New York while Ionescu and Jones remained idle. Jones, the player who has consistently struggled against Minnesota this year but who the Liberty need, had eight points and four assists in three quarters. Ionescu had seven points with four assists. The only double-digit scorer outside of Stewart’s 22 (en route to game highs of 30 and 11 rebounds) was Leonie Fiebich with 13.

“That shot is beautiful,” Ionescu said of her winning goal. “But that doesn’t contradict what (Stewart) was able to do for us tonight and how she was able to just get us back into this game.”

Defense and sloppy offense filled nearly four minutes midway through the fourth quarter until the Lynx took a four-minute lead with 2:25 left. Jones responded to a 3-ball corner and took a 74-73 lead thanks to an Ionescu assist. Ionescu hit just her second 3 of the game, giving New York a four-point lead.

“At Sab, JJ and I, we know when it’s time to move forward and make a difference,” Stewart said.

Minnesota made it a fifth tie with 16 seconds on the clock, prompting flashbacks to Game 1 and possible overtime. New York held on for the second straight game and head coach Sandy Brondello stayed true to the 2024 Liberty style.

She put the ball in the hands of Ionescu and Stewart.

“Stewie got us back in there (and) got us in there,” Brondello said. “I just thought it was the right time. This is Sabrina. … Not everyone can take these big shots and produce them. She can.”

Ionescu finished the game with a modest 13 points on 5 of 12 shooting and went 3 of 8 from 3. She added six assists, five rebounds, one steal and one block. It was their second-lowest point total of the postseason, a statistic that would have doomed New York against a team as high-profile as Minnesota.

But the last three points will live on in Liberty lore.

Jones began setting up a screen for Ionescu and fled toward the paint to make room for her. When Jones turned his back to the basket in the left block, Ionescu let go with three seconds left. Jones thought to himself: “Oh my God, she’s almost there.”

“Tough, but that’s the type of player she is,” Jones said. “She appears in big moments and enjoys taking those shots. We need it.”

“Pumped. Upset. “Impressed,” reserve point guard Courtney Vandersloot said of the game-winner. “Because it’s not easy. Obviously the shot is difficult. But back then. Everything. What’s at stake?”

Ionescu held his own in the middle of the court and there was still a second left before the Liberty could clinch the victory. She poked Stewart in the chest and gave him a quick, bright smile before turning back to the face of the Liberty’s newest postseason hero.

“I constantly visualize different scenarios and put myself in difficult situations,” Ionescu said. “Obviously I didn’t play my best tonight, but I found a way to keep at it and I feel like that was a big step forward for me whether the ball goes in or not.”

Although it is the biggest success of her career, it is not without competition. She built an illustrious legacy at Oregon, becoming the first player in NCAA history, male or female, with 2,000 career points, 1,000 career rebounds and 1,000 career assists. Her 26 triple-doubles are unlikely to be touched by anyone any time soon. She was the school’s third No. 1 overall pick in a sport and first since the 1970s.

Hours earlier, Ionescu laced up her Nike Sabrina 1 colorway for the second straight year in honor of the Ducks. A few green Oregon jerseys were on display at the whitewashed Target Center, just like back home in New York. Oregon head coach Kelly Graves flew out after practice to see former player Nyara Sabally, whose efforts on both ends sparked Stewart’s early foul trouble; Vandersloot, whom he coached at Gonzaga; and Ionescu, who put New York in history with his shot in the 40th minute.

The coach, who watched Ionescu train for four years for that moment, shared a video from his perspective and wrote on social media: “Was there ever a doubt?!?!” Before Ionescu joined her family outside the Liberty locker room and focused on shutting down a desperate Lynx team in Game 4, the three-time second-team All-WNBA superstar hugged her college head coach.

“He kind of told me the same thing,” Ionescu said. “There was never any doubt.”