Sabrina Ionescu sets Liberty's franchise 30-point record in big win over Sun to tighten grasp on No. 1 seed

Ionescu now has 13 career 30-point games

By Jack Maloney Jul 16, 2024 at 10:33 pm ET• 2 min read

With multiple starters sidelined, including reigning MVP Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu put the New York Liberty on her back on Tuesday night. The Olympian went off for 30 points, six rebounds and five assists to lead her team to a 82-74 win over the Connecticut Sun that tightened the Liberty's grasp on the No. 1 seed. 

"We stuck together," Ionescu said. "Everyone came in and did their job. We knew we had to pick some people up who weren't playing with us. This crowd got us going the whole night, we want to protect homecourt."

In the process, Ionescu surpassed Cappie Pondexter to become the Liberty's leader in 30-point games with 13. That moves her into a tie with Seimone Augustus for 19th place on the WNBA's all-time 30-point game leaderboard. In addition, this was Ionescu's sixth career game with at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists, which is second only to Diana Taurasi (eight) in league history. 

Sabrina Ionescu continues her stellar play, scoring 30 points tonight with over 50% shooting from the field and beyond the arc, leading the @nyliberty to their fifth straight win! 🔥#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/IoEv5slHTl

— WNBA (@WNBA) July 17, 2024

Here's a look at the Liberty's top 30-point scorers. No one else in franchise history besides these four has more than two 30-point games:

Player	30-Point Games
Sabrina Ionescu	13
Cappie Pondexter	13
Breanna Stewart	10
Tina Charles	10

Ionescu got off to a hot start, as she made three 3-pointers and had 12 points in the first quarter to help the Liberty build an early double-digit lead. She had a big third quarter as well, when she lived at the free throw line en route to 10 points in the frame, and had some big plays in the fourth to seal the victory.