W.N.B.A. Rookie Showdown Halted by Ionescu Injury

“We’ve put in a lot of work in training camp, and I’m starting to really know them and find them,” Carter said. “It’ll all come together.”

Carter finished with 17 points on 6-of-15 shooting and three assists on Friday, a performance with rough stretches and dynamic moments.

She missed shots early. But with less than five minutes to play, she drew a foul on a drive, finished a scooping layup and buried a nifty pull-up jumper at the elbow to help the Dream maintain their advantage. With 1:25 to play, though, Carter made contact with New York’s Jazmine Jones as Jones rose for a jumper, which sent Carter to the bench with her sixth foul.

Before her injury, Ionescu appeared to be on her way to another impressive performance.

She scored 10 points in 12 minutes, mixing aggressive drives with outside shooting. During one excellent sequence, she finished at the basket, sprinted back and jumped to snag a steal, then delivered an overhead pass down the floor — while still airborne — to Layshia Clarendon for a layup.

But by the fourth quarter, the Liberty needed their other rookies to produce with Ionescu injured. Jones finished with 20 points, two steals and two blocks off the bench, while Jocelyn Willoughby added 14 points, three steals and two blocks.

“It’s been exciting to see, every night, somebody else has stepped up,” Hopkins said. “What we’ve talked about with consistency, with a younger team, it’s about getting those types of efforts.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/sports/basketball/sabrina-ionescu-injury.html