Satou Sabally, Sabrina Ionescu set Liberty debut for Sunday
satou sabally made her season debut Thursday, and Sabrina Ionescu is set to follow Sunday for the Liberty against the Dallas Wings after missing the first five games with a left ankle injury. New York enters at 3-2 and will have one of its top guards back for the second game of a seven-game homestand.
Sabrina Ionescu and Dallas Wings
Ionescu rolled the ankle in the Liberty’s preseason finale earlier this month, then had an MRI the next day that showed she avoided major injury. She said she had some structural damage, but it responded really quickly, and she does not expect the foot issue to linger.
She said after Saturday’s practice that she was ready for her season opener. “It’s exciting for me to be able to play my kind of season opener. … So I’m excited. Feels like it’s been a while — it hasn’t — but it feels like it’s been forever just having to watch from the sidelines.”
Liberty rotation changes
The Liberty also moved their roster on Friday, waiving guard Julie Vanloo after signing her to a hardship contract at the start of the season. Rookie Pauline Astier started all five games while Ionescu was out and averaged 14.8 points, four rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals.
That stretch kept New York afloat while playing short-handed, but Sunday brings a different look. Ionescu is expected to have a minute restriction, and Chris DeMarco still has to balance her return with the form Astier gave the team in the opening five games.
Chris DeMarco’s home stretch
Ionescu said she kept her conditioning through rehab with two-a-day workouts, including a stationary bike and underwater treadmill. “I don’t feel like my cardio dipped at all,” she said. “That’s why you come in really, really good shape for stuff like this.”
The Liberty’s recent loss to Golden State added a sharper edge to Sunday’s return. “Any time you lose, there’s a little bit of a heightened sense of, ‘We got to continue to hone in on the things we got to work on,’” Ionescu said, and New York now has more reinforcements as it settles into the homestand.
