It’s a little early in the season for a playoff-quality game. But on Saturday, the New York Liberty and Indiana Fever delivered, with the Liberty getting a 90-88 win in a last-second thriller.
The momentum changed constantly throughout the game, with both teams leading by double digits at different points in the matchup. A big 12-point fourth quarter from Jonquel Jones pushed New York into the lead, with a pair of free throws from Sabrina Ionescu and a last-second steal from Natasha Cloud sealing the victory.
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Indiana guards Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham felt that Cloud’s final defensive play on Clark should’ve been a foul, heading straight to the referee to express that sentiment. Despite their protests — plus the anger of the Fever home crowd — the officials stuck to their ruling, and the Liberty came away with the win.
Fever head coach Stephanie White complained about the officiating after the game.
“The disrespect for our team right now has been pretty unbelievable,” White said.
The two teams traded leads early on, keeping things tight from the jump. The Liberty went down a starter in the second quarter, with Leonie Fiebich heading to the bench after a collision with Lexie Hull. In the minutes after Fiebich left, New York started to find a groove, taking a double-digit lead and going up by as many as 15 points.
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The Fever crept within reach of the Liberty throughout the second half, going on a run of their own and retaking the lead in the third quarter. Indiana went up by as many as 12 points in that quarter.
Saturday marked another tough 3-point shooting day for Clark: After go 0 for 5 from 3-point range in the Fever’s win over the Atlanta Dream on Thursday, Clark once again struggled from beyond the arc. She went 0 for 7 on Saturday before finally sinking a contested three late in the third quarter.
It was an eventful final minute for Clark in that third quarter: Seconds later, Clark crashed into the basket after getting blocked by Breanna Stewart.
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Then Clark bounced right back, getting a long buzzer-beating 3 to put Indiana up 76-68 heading into the final frame.
Despite the Fever leading by as many as 12 in the third quarter, New York didn’t let that lead last long. The Liberty’s team effort pulled them back into the game, with a Jones 3-pointer getting the team back within one point of the Fever. Another massive 3 from Jones gave New York the lead — and silenced the Indiana home crowd.
The final minutes came down to the free-throw line. Successful free throws from Jones and Aliyah Boston tied things up at 88. Ionescu had a chance to take the lead twice, but her 3-pointer attempts bounced out of the basket.
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Indiana had several chances to pull ahead in the final seconds, but fell short each time — with a missed 3-pointer from Clark, Cloud getting a block on DeWanna Bonner and a Kelsey Mitchell layup that came after the buzzer.
Ionescu was fouled by Lexie Hull with 7.6 seconds left, and sank both free throws to take the 90-88 lead. In the end, it came down to Cloud, who just needed a tap to get the ball out of Clark’s hands as the clock ran down.
Jones had 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Ionescu put up 23 points. Stewart and Cloud scored 16 points, with Cloud getting five steals — including the one that sealed the game.
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For the Fever, Boston had another great game, finishing with a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds. Clark finished with 18 points and 10 assists, but also 10 had turnovers in the loss.
The Fever are now 2-2 after a busy start to the season, and will have a few days off before traveling to play the Washington Mystics on Wednesday. Next up for the 3-0 Liberty are a pair of home games against the Golden State Valkyries, on Tuesday and Thursday.
