Natasha Cloud and Sabrina Ionescu lift the Liberty to an 89-79 win over the Sparks
Breanna Stewart added 17 points and 14 rebounds and Sabrina Ionescu had 20 points for New York (12-5).
The defending champion Liberty trailed 53-42 midway through the third before Cloud and Ionescu got going. Cloud's three-point play sparked a 13-0 run and then Ionescu scored 10 straight points for New York to give the Liberty a 63-59 advantage.
New York extended its lead to 69-59 by the end of the period. Los Angeles (5-13) cut it to five with 3:30 left before Leonie Fiebich hit a 3-pointer to seal the win.
Dearica Hamby scored 25 points to lead Los Angeles, which got a boost with the return of Rae Burrell. She saw her first action since injuring her knee in the opener. She checked in late in the first quarter and played 12 minutes, finishing with five points.
The game also marked the debut of Julie Vanloo, whom the Sparks picked up off waivers two hours before tip-off. She came in early in the second quarter and played two minutes.
New York was still missing star forward Jonquel Jones, who has been sidelined with a sprained ankle. Jones told reporters on Wednesday that she's progressing well, but didn't want to put a timetable on her return. The Liberty welcomed back Fiebich, who had been playing for Germany in the EuroBasket tournament over the last few weeks.
Los Angeles built a 41-37 halftime lead behind 10 points from Hamby. Stewart had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Liberty guard Marine Johannes had two standout plays in the first half. She hit a 3-pointer off one foot as the shot clock ran out, and later made a no-look, behind-the-back pass to Stewart for a layup.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
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National Post
7 hours ago
- National Post
New-look Toronto FC beaten 3-1 by New York City FC
NEW YORK — Toronto FC, in its first outing since buying out the contacts of Italian designated players Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi, was beaten 3-1 by New York City FC in the lone MLS game Thursday. Article content Hannes Wolf, Mitja Ilenic and Kevin O'Toole scored for New York (9-7-4). Eight of NYCFC's wins have come at home (8-3-0). Article content Article content The win moved NYCFC up three places to sixth spot in the Eastern Conference, seven places and 14 points above Toronto. Article content While Toronto (4-11-5) was competitive at Yankee Stadium, its offence was stagnant in the first half. There wasn't much offence until Ola Brynhildsen and Theo Corbeanu both tested New York 'keeper Tomas Romero around the hour mark. Article content At the other end it too often allowed NYCFC attackers too clear a path to TFC's goal. Article content '(It's) disappointing because I thought we more than started well,' said Toronto coach Robin Fraser. 'I thought for a lot of the game we were really good. And really solid. Article content 'Mistakes. Mistakes did us in. We're disappointed in the result, partially because we know how badly we need results. But really I'm proud of the effort. The effort was great. There were a couple of mental lapses that ended up costing us too much. But so many guys played so well and put in a real honest shift. It's just disappointing when you do so many things well and you still come out on this side of it.' Article content New York outshot Toronto 10-8 (5-2 in shots on target). Article content Toronto started brightly but found itself trailing 1-0 in the 20th minute when, after a NYCFC free kick, a cross found Wolf and the Austrian midfielder's stylish left-footed volley went in after beating Sean Johnson and hitting both goalposts. Article content It was the ninth goal of the season for Wolf and his sixth in his last six games. Article content Ilenic doubled the lead in the 49th minute, sticking out a leg to deflect in Agustin Ojeda's cross after the Argentine winger had been allowed to race towards the Toronto goal without challenge. Ilenic, a 20-year-old Slovenian international fullback, marked his second goal of the season with Cristiano Ronaldo's trademark celebration. Article content Toronto cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 70th minute via an own goal. Corbeanu beat a defender down the right flank, reached the byline and sent in a cross that deflected off defender Justin Haak and then Romero into the goal. Article content O'Toole restored New York's two-goal lead in the 74th minute. Kosi Thompson was dispossessed and Maxi Moralez passed the ball to Wolf, who found O'Toole unchecked in the Toronto penalty box. The substitute dribbled towards goal and beat Johnson with a low shot. Article content Fraser went with the same lineup that beat visiting Portland 3-0 Saturday in what was TFC's best performance of the season.
