Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts tagged as “NY”

Ionescu, Plum, and Mitchell Among Stars “Cored” for 2026 WNBA

April 8, 2026

Alexa Philippou, writing for ESPN;

Ten of 15 WNBA teams have extended core qualifying offers to players since free agency started Monday.

Players who have been “cored” — akin to being given the NFL’s franchise tag — include Sabrina Ionescu, by the New York Liberty; Napheesa Collier (Minnesota Lynx); Kelsey Mitchell (Indiana Fever); Kelsey Plum, (Los Angeles Sparks); and Arike Ogunbowale (Dallas Wings).

The core designation gives a team exclusive negotiating rights to a player and comes with a baseline contract of a fully guaranteed one-year deal worth the supermax ($1.4 million in 2026), though the player can negotiate different terms.

Here’s the full list of cored players, via @alexaphilippou

  • Atlanta: Allisha Gray
  • Chicago: Ariel Atkins
  • Dallas: Arike Ogunbowale
  • Indiana: Kelsey Mitchell
  • LA: Kelsey Plum
  • Minnesota: Napheesa Collier
  • NY: Sabrina Ionescu
  • Portland: Bridget Carleton
  • Seattle: Ezi Magbegor
  • Toronto: Marina Mabrey

Indiana Fever hand New York Liberty their first loss in the season (102 – 88)

June 15, 2025

It was Caitlin Clark’s first game since being sidelined due to a left quadriceps strain injury, and it was the return that a lot of CC fans had been expecting. Caitlin Clark was flirting with a triple-double; with 32 points, 8 rebounds, and 9 assists, she accounted for 54 of Indiana’s points through her scoring and assists.

In a two-minute stretch in the first quarter, she scored a total of 12 points: an and-1, followed by three straight triples—a 33-footer, a 27-footer 21 seconds later, and then a 31-footer 22 seconds after that. This brought the Gainbridge Fieldhouse sellout crowd (17,274) to a frenzy.

Clark got a lot of help from fellow superstar Kelsey Mitchell, who added 22 points. Lexie Hull contributed 14 points, and Aliyah Boston had a double-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. Sydney Colson was big off the bench with 10 points and 6 assists.

The win is payback for their 90-88 loss to the Liberty on May 24th, the last game Caitlin Clark played before sitting out the next five games. The New York Liberty are now 9-1 for the season.

On the Liberty side, Sabrina Ionescu led the team with a season-high 34 points and 4 assists. Breanna Stewart added 24 points and 5 rebounds. New York is missing the services of Jonquel Jones, who is out with an ankle injury, and Leonie Fiebich due to her overseas commitment for Germany in the EuroBasket competition.

Checkout the game highlights below;

The Indiana Fever will host the Connecticut Sun this Tuesday, while the NY Liberty will be hosting the Atlanta Dream, also this Tuesday.

Indiana Pacers move on to the 2025 NBA Finals

June 1, 2025

The Indiana Pacers will advance to the NBA Finals as they defeat the NY Knicks to bag the 2025 Eastern Conference Champions. It was a close first half of the game, where the largest lead was just 6 points (33-39) by the Indiana Pacers.

Pascal Siakam, who was named 2025 Eastern Conference MVP, carried the scoring load for the Pacers in the first half, scoring a team-high 31 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists with a steal and 3 blocks. Tyrese Haliburton, who had just scored 7 points in the first half, added 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 13 assists. He also made 3 steals and a block.

As great as Siakam and Haliburton were, it was a total team effort for the Pacers. Seven Pacers scored in double digits, including seldom-used Thomas Bryant, who scored 11 points in just 13 minutes of playing time.

This will be the Pacers’ first trip to the NBA Finals in 25 years. The last time they won the Eastern Conference Finals was in 2000, where they also defeated the NY Knicks in 6 games.

The Indiana Pacers will face the waiting OKC Thunder, with the league MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals will be this Thursday.

Fever suffer their second home loss to the Liberty (90 – 88)

May 25, 2025

The Indiana Fever suffered another heartbreaking home loss, falling to the New York Liberty after clawing back from a 15-point deficit. Despite a dominant third quarter where the Fever outscored the Liberty 30-13, they couldn’t maintain the momentum, managing only 12 points in the fourth quarter while the Liberty scored 22. Sabrina Ionescu sealed the win for New York with two crucial free throws at the end of the game. The win will keep the Liberty unbeaten 4 games into the season, while the Fever will have a 2 – 2 standing.

Jonquel Jones led the Liberty with a double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds. Sabrina Ionescu contributed 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Breanna Stewart and Natasha Cloud each added 16 points.

For the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark had another challenging shooting night, going 6-of-19 from the field, including 2-of-12 from three-point range. Despite her struggles, she spearheaded the third-quarter surge with a four-point play and a buzzer-beating shot to end the quarter. Clark finished with 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 10 assists. Aliyah Boston delivered another stellar performance, tallying 27 points and 13 rebounds. Kelsey Mitchell and Lexie Hull each chipped in 15 points. Natasha Howard, the hero of their previous game, was limited to 6 points and 8 rebounds.

The Indiana Fever will travel to Washington this Thursday evening, while the Liberty will host the Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday night.

New York Liberty evens the series behind Stewart and Laney-Hamilton (80 – 66)

October 14, 2024

Doug Feinberg – AP Basketball Writer via WNBA;

Breanna Stewart wasn’t going to let history repeat itself.

With the Minnesota Lynx making another fourth quarter run, the two-time league MVP refused to let the New York Liberty lose again.

Stewart scored 21 points and had a WNBA Finals record seven steals to help the Liberty beat the Lynx 80-66 on Sunday in Game 2 of the WNBA Finals.

Just like Game 1, New York built a double-digit lead in the first half, only to see it evaporate. This time they didn’t completely collapse, holding on to even the series 1-1 as it shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Wednesday night.

New York Liberty made sure that Minnesota Lynx won’t be stealing this game, even after the Lynx erasing the Liberty’s 9-point lead early in the 4th qtr, to just 2 points. But from the 3:40 mark in the final qtr the New York Liberty went on a 12 to nothing run to build a 14-point cushion to end the game.

There are four Liberty players who scored double-digits points, you have the regulars like Breanna Stewart who lead the team in almost every category, she had 21 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 7 steals and 1 block. Sabrina Ionescu, because of the “Caitlin Clark” treatment that she received, was not able to score in the 2nd half but was a big contributor in the first half. She added 15 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.

Then you also have the towering Jonquel Jones who was also a monster on the boards and got some timely tip in to help secure the W for the Liberty. Jones scored 14 points, a game-high 9 rebounds and 2 steals. Then there’s Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, who was the unlikely-hero of the team by draining 4 pressure packed three-pointers, she end up with 20-points with 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

The next two games of the WNBA Finals will be hosted by the Minnesota Lynx. Game 3 will be this Wednesday, Oct 16, 2024 at the Target Center Minneapolis.

Minnesota Lynx stole Game 1 of the WNBA Finals from the the top-seeded New York Liberty in OT (95-93)

October 12, 2024

ESPN;

The Lynx, who trailed by as many as 18 points, are the first team in WNBA postseason history to win a game after trailing by 15-plus points in the final 5 minutes of regulation.

Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals will forever be a classic. This was a game that New York Liberty should have won, or must win. Since this is just a best of 5 series, one win could swing the whole series and this is a great start for the Lynx.

Three Lynx players scored 20-plus points; Courtney Williams, who went berserk in the 4th quarter and made a 4-point play in the last 5.5 seconds left in regulation, scored 23 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Napheesa Collier finished the game with 21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks and 3 steals. Kyla McBride added 22 points and 4 rebounds.

Game 2 will still be at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY this Sunday, Oct 13, 2024.

NY Liberty eliminates LC Aces to advance to the WNBA Finals (76 – 62)

October 7, 2024

ESPN;

Ionescu rebounded from a rare off game to score 22 points, and nearly a year after the Aces ended the Liberty’s dream of a championship, New York returned the favor Sunday afternoon by defeating Las Vegas 76-62 to advance to the WNBA Finals.

It was a masterful performance by the New York Liberties, the team was able to keep their composure and lead despite their key players, Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich, being in the foul trouble for most of the game.

The Liberty was lead by Sabrina Ionescu who scored a team high of 22 points and 7 rebounds, followed by a double-double from Breanna Stewart, who scored 19 points and 14 rebounds. They will face the winner of Game 5 of the Lynx-Sun series this Tuesday, 8th of October. Game 1 of the WNBA Finals is scheduled this Thursday, October 10, 2024 hosted by the NY Liberty in Barclays Center.

New York Liberty sweeps Atlanta Dream, advances to 2nd round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs (91 – 82)  

September 25, 2024

ESPN News Services;

They moved one step closer as Sabrina Ionescu tied a franchise playoff record with 36 points to help the Liberty beat the Atlanta Dream 91-82 on Tuesday night and advance to the semifinals of the WNBA playoffs.

The Liberty shouldn’t have any problem advancing to the 2nd round, since the Dream barely qualified for the playoffs. They need to move past the Las Vegas Aces to advance to the 2024 WNBA Finals.

The first game of the 2nd round of the WNBA Playoffs will on Sunday, September 29, 2024 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

NBA Roundup for March 23rd Games; Warriors lost to Magics, Hawks defeated Knicks in their return to MSG, Bucks and Nuggets taking care of business at hime.

March 23, 2022

Golden State Warriors – Orlando Magics

The Golden State Warriors lost to the Orlando Magics, their 3rd loss straight lost since Steph’s injury against the Boston Celtics. Warriors made it to a close game but Franz Wagner’s late three free throws with 12.2 seconds left and dunked on an inbounds play sealed the game for the Golden State.

With the Warriors’ loss (47-25), Phoenix Suns (58-14) clinched first place in the Pacific Division.

Atlanta Hawks – New York Knicks

In their first game at the Madison Square Garden since last season’s playoff, Atlanta Hawks defeated the NY Knicks. Trae Young had 45 points and 8 assists, he got a lot of help from Bogdan Bogdanovic who scored a season-high 32 points, 3 assists and 3 steals. Bogdan’s biggest contribution to the game when he hit a go-ahead 3, then another by De’Andre Hunter which is part of Hawks’ 11-0 run with 1:04 left in the game.

Hawks will visit Detroit while the Knicks will go to Charlotte on Wednesday.

Milwaukee Bucks – Chicago Bulls

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 25 points and 17 rebounds in his return after missing games because of a sore right knee. Bucks missed the services of All-Star forward Khris Middleton, who was dealing with a sore left wrist. Bucks also saw the return of Brook Lopez, who had 10 points and 6 rebounds in 24 minutes for Milwaukee. Lopez came off the bench in the last three games after missing 67 because of a back injury that needed surgery.

Bucks will host the Washington Wizard while the Bulls will visit New Orleans this Thursday.

LA Clippers – Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets took care of their business at home by a 127-115 win over the LA Clippers. Nikola Jokic bounced back from a poor shooting night by scoring 30 points, 14 reb and 6 assists. Jokic had a lot of help from Hyland, Aaron Gordon and Jeff Green, chipping in 16 points and a combined 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

Clippers will be hosting the Philadelphia 76ers this Friday and Nuggets will need another monster game from Jokic, to fend off the Phoenix Suns this Thursday.