The New York Liberty suffered their first defeat of the 2025 WNBA regular season on Saturday, as they were defeated by the Indiana Fever by a score of 102-88.
It's worth noting that the defending WNBA champions were without two key pieces, as both Jonquel Jones (who missed her second straight game because of an ankle injury) and Leonie Fiebich (who left the Liberty to represent Germany in the 2025 EuroBasket Women competition) were out. Still, the Liberty were able to put up a solid fight against a Fever team that had star guard Caitlin Clark back for the first time in five games, as she was recovering from a left quad strain.
The two best players on the court Saturday were Clark and Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu, as Clark finished with 32 points (including seven made three-pointers) while Ionescu tallied a game-high 34 points.
Ionescu spoke with the media after the game and sent a powerful message about competing against Clark.
"Basketball's a game of runs... the same way we go on runs, they do as well, they're a great team. I think we gave [Caitlin] too many easy ones, she has great range," Ionescu said, per an X post from Myles Ehrlich of Winsidr.
"On a personal level, I'm happy to see [Clark] out there on the court and feeling good," Ionescu added.
Sabrina Ionescu: "Basketball's a game of runs… the same way we go on runs, they do as well, they're a great team. I think we gave [Caitlin] too many easy ones, she has great range… On a personal level, I'm happy to see her out there on the court & feeling good." (Q: @madkenney)
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) June 14, 2025
Ionescu and Clark appear to be close friends, and both have given each other their flowers several times. And given that Clark being sidelined for the past 19 days came after she hurt her quad against Ionescu's Liberty squad on May 24, her returning for this game felt like a full-circle moment.
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