Jonquel Jones collected 15 points and 10 rebounds as the host New York Liberty withstood a quiet showing from Sabrina Ionescu and earned an 85-76 victory over the Dallas Wings on Tuesday night.
The Liberty won for the second time in five games since losing Breanna Stewart to a right leg injury on July 26 and used a balanced effort to avenge a loss in Dallas last week.
Jones shot 6-for-12 from the floor and the Liberty (19-10) improved to 8-0 when the center posts a double-double this season.
Leonie Fiebich added 14, including a 3-pointer that gave New York a 15-point lead with about three minutes left. Emma Meesseman added 13 in her home debut for the Liberty, who shot 47.7 percent.
Reserve Stephanie Talbot contributed 13 and Natasha Cloud finished with 12 as the Liberty got 22 points from the bench and shot 50 percent (12-for-24) from 3-point range.
New York’s balanced effort occurred on a night when Ionescu could never get into a rhythm and was held to nine points on 2-of-9 shooting.
Paige Bueckers scored 21 for her fourth straight 20-point showing but the Wings (8-22) lost for the ninth time in 11 games. Bueckers briefly headed to the locker room in the fourth quarter to get her back checked out but finished 8-for-15 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds.
Arike Ogunbowale added 14 as Dallas shot 37.2 percent and took the loss despite a 45-35 rebounding edge. Maddy Siegrist added 13 off the bench for the Wings, who shot 6-for-27 (22.2 percent) from 3-point range.
The Liberty ended a strong opening quarter with a 24-15 lead after Rebekah Gardner capitalized on a Dallas turnover and sank a 3-pointer with 24.6 seconds left. New York took its first double-digit lead in the opening minute of the second quarter when Meesseman sank a floater for a 26-15 edge and held a 37-34 lead by halftime.
Bueckers sank a 3 in the opening minutes of the third for a 38-37 lead and Ogunbowale’s 3 put Dallas up 41-39 with 7:39 left. Bueckers hit a 19-footer to get Dallas within 49-46 with 4:50 left and New York ended the third with a 60-53 lead.
Talbot’s 3 opened a 70-57 lead with 7 1/2 minutes left and two free throws by Ionescu opened a 15-point lead about a minute later. Fiebich hit a triple for a 79-64 lead with 3:05 left to clinch it.
–Field Level Media
