Sabrina Ionescu Bounces Back in Liberty Commissioner's Cup Win

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Robin Lundberg | Last updated Jun 30, 2026 10:10 PM ET

Sabrina Ionescu has had a rough go of it lately. But she turned things around at the right time—complete with a New York Liberty WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory.

Ionescu shook off her recent struggles , dropping 26 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists as New York was able to hold on to defeat the Las Vegas Aces 93-85 in Brooklyn.

Breanna Stewart wound up winning cup MVP behind her 25 points and 11 rebounds, but she said Ionescu deserved her share of the award afterward.

Breanna Stewart jokingly told Sabrina Ionescu that we could share the MVP trophy together pic.twitter.com/s3OSKX40Iu
— WNBA Got Game (@wnbagotgame) July 1, 2026

The Liberty controlled the majority of the contest with A'ja Wilson sidelined by a right leg injury for the Aces. However, Las Vegas stormed back from down 16 to take the lead in the fourth quarter. The Liberty then pulled away late, with Ionescu hitting the exclamation point three with 16 seconds left putting New York up by eight.

Jackie Young led the Aces with 31 points and coach Becky Hammon may be second guessed a bit for leaving Chennedy Carter on the bench for a little too long during crunch time. Carter returned late in the fourth and was second on the team with 18 points.

But Ionescu was the story.

Ionescu Had Been Struggling

Ionescu battled through both a foot and back injury, missing a chunk of the season before making her return to the lineup. Her reintegration didn't exactly go smoothly as she has struggled with her shot since. Ionescu was averaging just 9.5 points on 34.6% shooting heading into the contest.

Her coach had her back however. Chris DeMarco, who is in his first year at the helm for the Liberty, emphasized that the Liberty star was still working her way back from her ailments, before asserting, "we're not worried about Sab, she's one of the best players in this league."

After the Liberty defeated the Aces, DeMarco stated that she proved him right, adding that he was proud of her for the clutch performance.

Hammon also expected Ionescu to bounce back.

"Her game never takes me by surprise. She's too good. And by the way, I don't know if anybody's noticed in this crowd, she likes big moments and big shots. So, no, not surprised," Hammon said of Ionescu's performance.

Unfortunately for Hammon, Ionescu happened to get back on track at the expense of the Aces.

The Liberty will have a couple days off to soak in the victory, but things won't get any easier once they are back on the floor, as they take on the league-leading Minnesota Lynx at Barclays Center on Friday.