Ionescu scores 36, Meesseman has 11 in debut as Liberty beat Sun 87-78 to snap 4-game skid
Jonquel Jones added 21 points and nine rebounds for the Liberty (18-10), who were without All-Star Breanna Stewart for a fourth-straight game because of a bruised knee.
Tina Charles had 17 points and eight rebounds and Anneesah Moorow 16 points and nine rebounds for the the Sun (5-22), who handed the Liberty their worst loss of the season on Friday 78-62. Bria Hartley added 12 points and Marina Mabrey 10.
Meesseman, a former finals MVP who last played in the league in 2022 before winning the EuroLeague Women's MVP the last three seasons, did all her damage in the second half. Ionescu had 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season to go with her fifth 30-point game as she finished a point shy of her career best. She also surpassed 1,000 assists, the third-fastest to reach that milestone.
Ionescu had 16 points of New York's first 20 and the Liberty scored the last nine of the first quarter to take a 25-19 lead that they never relinquished. She had 20 and Jones 13 for a 45-38 lead at the half.
Meesseman got on the scoreboard with a pair of free throws early in the third quarter, and scored seven during a 9-2 surge that saw the Liberty turn a four-point lead into the first double-figure lead of the day, 54-43. New York took a 66-57 lead into the fourth quarter.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
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