Jonquel Jones had 26 points and 12 rebounds and Sabrina Ionescu added 23 points, including the winning free throws with 2.9 seconds left, to lead the New York Liberty over the Indiana Fever 90-88 on May 24.
Caitlin Clark, who ended a stretch of 12 missed 3-pointers with a four-point play followed by a 33-foot buzzer-beater to end the third quarter, had the ball stripped away by Natasha Cloud on the final play of the game. She finished with 18 points, 10 assists and 10 turnovers, shooting 2 for 11 from 3.
Breanna Stewart and Cloud had 16 points each for the Liberty (3-0).
Aliyah Boston led Indiana (2-2) with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Lexie Hull, starting in place of DeWanna Bonner, and Kelsey Mitchell added 15 points each.
Clark’s turnovers were scattered between precise feeds to the rim to her teammates, including Boston, who bounced back from a four-point performance in a win over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday.
The Fever had an 80-68 lead with less than nine minutes remaining in the game. It was an impressive midgame run for the newly formed Fever against the reigning WNBA champs, having stormed back from down 14 early in the second quarter.
But the Liberty’s experience showed up when it mattered. Jones, Stewart and Ionescu brought them quickly back into the game. They went on a 14-2 run for an 84-82 lead after Jones drained consecutive 3-pointers.
Clark said after the game she’d have to look at the tape to tell whether she was fouled on the final play. Coach Stephanie White, however, wasn’t as neutral.
“I think it’s pretty egregious what’s been happening to us the last four games, you know, a minus-31 free throw discrepancy,” White said. “And I might be able to understand it if we were just chucking 3s. But we’re not. We’re attacking the rim and the disrespect right now for our team has been pretty unbelievable.”
Up next
The Liberty head home to play a pair of games against expansion Golden State on Tuesday and Thursday. Indiana is at Washington on Wednesday.
