Liberty cruise past Caitlin Clark-less Fever, 98-77

Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News on Jul 16, 2025

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NEW YORK — The Liberty ended the first half of the season on a high note.

Facing an Indiana Fever team that was without Caitlin Clark, the Liberty cruised to a 98-77 victory at Barclays Center on Wednesday night behind one of their most well-rounded performances of the year.

Breanna Stewart led the way with 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go with 11 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks.

Sabrina Ionescu added 15 points and a season-high nine assists, several of which came on highlight-worthy passes.

Stewart and Ionescu are set to represent the Liberty at Saturday night’s WNBA All-Star Game in Indianapolis, and they looked the part in Wednesday’s rout.

Ionescu drilled a pair of 3-pointers and made a tough reverse layup during a 10-point first quarter. She finished 3 of 9 from behind the arc before she’s set to compete in Friday’s 3-point contest in Indy.

Stewart, meanwhile, had five assists in the first quarter and repeatedly got into the lane for easy baskets, including on a third-quarter cut in which the right-handed Ionescu found her with a lefty bounce pass.

Those two fueled a Liberty offense that shot 57.8% from the field and went 14 of 27 (51.9%) on 3-pointers. Four of those 3-pointers came in a one-minute, 40-second stretch late in the fourth quarter, with Marine Johannes sinking two of them.

The Liberty’s uptempo attack proved to be too much for a Fever team on the second leg of a back-to-back, as did a Liberty defense that blocked nine shots and held Indiana to 14 points in the second quarter.

During that second quarter, the Liberty unleashed a 19-8 run that put the game out of reach.

Clark was ruled out about two hours before Wednesday’s game with a right groin injury, which she suffered in the final minute of Tuesday’s win over the Connecticut Sun.

The 23-year-old Clark underwent imaging Wednesday and is considered day-to-day. The sharp-shooting sensation has missed 11 games this season, having previously sat out with left quad and left groin injuries.

The Fever (12-11) struggled Wednesday without Clark, whose elite scoring and play-making — her 8.8 assists per game rank second in the WNBA — command considerable defensive attention and open up Indiana’s offense.

Indiana shot just 36.8% from the field and 25% from 3-point range.

The Liberty enter the All-Star break at 15-6, the second-best record in the WNBA. They trail the Minnesota Lynx (20-4) by 3.5 games for the top seed.

Wednesday’s win capped a roller-coaster first half for the defending champion Liberty, who jumped out to a franchise-best 9-0 start but have been less consistent since star center Jonquel Jones suffered a right ankle injury.

“There’s no pointing fingers. It’s taking ownership of what we need to be better [at]. Our culture’s strong, and that’s what you need,” Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said before Wednesday’s game.

“When you face adversity, you’re going to [learn] about your team and how you respond to the highs and lows of a normal season. I think we’ve been very professional in the way that we approach day in and day out. We know there’s areas to work on.”

The Liberty are 8-1 with Jones in the lineup and 7-5 without her.

Jones expects to return when the Liberty open the second half on Tuesday with another game against the Fever at Barclays Center.