Sabrina Ionescu had hurt the Aces very, very badly during the first two games of the semi-final of the WNBA playoffs in New York. In Liberty's two victories, she had combined 45 points at 18/33 shooting. Above all, she had perfectly used the “switches” and “mismatches” to press where it hurt for Las Vegas. Not to mention that it was she, in Game 2, who scored the decisive baskets in the “money-time”.
As the series shifted to Nevada for Game 3, the response of Becky Hammon's players was to put as much pressure as possible on the opposing leader, to derail the New York game.
And it worked because Las Vegas signed an authoritarian success, with a stifled Sabrina Ionescu, who finished the match with 4 points at 1/7 shooting, 5 rebounds, 5 assists but 5 turnovers. “They didn’t let me see the light of day”, could only notice the player after this big defeat.
Still three players in front of her
Furious with her team after the first two matches, Becky Hammon could this time praise the defensive performance of her players, in particular against the three-time All-Star and opposing Olympic champion.
“Every game in the series, things changed”explains Sabrina Ionescu. “They lost two games by allowing me to come off screens and hurt them offensively. This game showed the adjustments they made – sending two or three people on the ball carrier at the same time to not give me easy things. There were usually three people in front of me in any situation. »
It's up to her to adapt now, when she knows how the Aces will defend in Game 4, Sunday evening (9:00 p.m. French time). Even if, even at 2-0, the Liberty players did not expect to see A’ja Wilson and her teammates, double reigning champions, give up and offer them qualification on a plateau.
“The probability of us winning our six games against them this year was low”concludes Sabrina Ionescu. “It would have been very impressive, because they are champions twice in a row. We are still leading 2-1, and we have always recovered very well from a defeat. »
