SAN FRANCISCO — Sabrina Ionescu converted seven free throws in the final two minutes and made a key steal with 26 seconds left, Breanna Stewart had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and the New York Liberty held off the Golden State Valkyries 81-78 on Wednesday night.
Ionescu struggled to find her shooting rhythm returning from a neck injury and wound up 1 of 11 for 11 points in her Bay Area homecoming not far from where she grew up in the East Bay suburb of Walnut Creek. She regularly attended Warriors games.
Ionescu was 0 for 5 at halftime missing all four of her 3s. She finally connected on her first field goal, a 3-pointer, with 9 minutes left
Kate Martin hit a tying 3-pointer with 4:12 remaining and put the Valkyries ahead on a 3 at the 1:59 mark before Ionescu's free throws. Martin's 3 with 12 seconds to go made it a one-point game but Martin and Kayla Thornton missed two late 3s.
Stewart scored 21 of her points by halftime and Kennedy Burke added 20 points off the bench.
The Liberty (11-3) had lost three out of four after winning their first nine games — including the first two meetings against the expansion Valkyries on May 27 and 29 in Brooklyn.
In the first two matchups, Stewart had 51 points on 16-for-26 shooting while converting 18 of 25 free throws, her highest output against any opponent New York has faced more than once.
Martin finished with 21 points for the Valkyries (7-7), who had won two straight and five of six and sold out their eighth straight game at Chase Center, where they are 5-3.
