Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Liberty vs Mercury: Sabrina Ionescu-Jonquel Jones guide New York to Fifth Straight Victory

Alyssa Thomas passed Candace Parker for 10th on the All-Time Assists List in the WNBA.

Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

New York Liberty’s impressive home run continues as the defending champions overcame the the Phoenix Mercury 89-76 on Friday night for their fifth straight win. The Liberty are still at the second spot due to a season-best run from the Minnesota Lynx. Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones combined for 49 points to lead the victory.

Sabrina Ionescu led all the scorers with 29 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds while Jonquel Jones scored 20 points and 11 rebounds. Leonie Fiebich had 13 points and Natasha Cloud chipped in with 10. Liberty now improved to 17-6 and made a gap with the third-place Mercury (15-9). It was also the first victory for New York over Phoenix after losing two consecutive meetings.

The New York Liberty defeat the Phoenix Mercury 89-76 to move to 17-6 on the season 🙌

Sabrina Ionescu led the way in the win with 29 PTS, 5 REB, & 8 AST. Jonquel Jones added in 20 PTS & 11 REB of her own!#WelcometotheW pic.twitter.com/j8l5k24vAe
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 26, 2025

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Liberty Spoil Alyssa Thomas’ Historic Night and Complete Revenge against Mercury

Both teams were tied at 46 points at the end of the first half. Alyssa Thomas led Phoenix with 15 points and Sabrina Ionescu charged New York with 12 points. Phoenix scored the first eight points in the second quarter and took its lead to a dozen but New York rallied to tie the score at break. Jonquel Jones started the second half with the big block and Sabrina Ionescu dropped a three-pointer to push the surge.

JONQUEL JONES BEATS THE 3Q BUZZER 🚨

The @nyliberty end the quarter with an 8-PT lead on ION! pic.twitter.com/4b4HQ9qA3x
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 26, 2025

The Liberty outscored the Mercury 21-13 in the third quarter following a buzzer-beater from Jonquel Jones. They had a 18-5 closing run in the third period to take control of the game. New York dropped a 10-2 surge in the fourth to take a biggest lead of 18 points in the game. Phoenix couldn’t get within single digits the rest of the way and lost their first game of the season against the Liberty.

Alyssa Thomas had a stellar show in Brooklyn with 20 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists but couldn’t prevail the defeat. The Phoenix star also passed Candace Parker (1,634) for 10th on the All-Time Assists List in the WNBA. Thomas managed only five points and six rebounds in the second half. Kahleah Copper added 14 points for Phoenix, who went 7-for-30 from the 3-point line.

Climbing the charts 📈

With her first assist of the night vs. the Liberty, Alyssa Thomas passed Candace Parker (1,634) for 10th on the All-Time Assists List! pic.twitter.com/lOl9Woad5y
— espnW (@espnW) July 26, 2025

New York Liberty will take on LA Sparks next on Saturday and it will be their final fixture of the 8-game homestand. The defending champions dropped only one game through this home run. On the other hand, the Phoenix Mercury will continue their road trip with the next clash against the Washington Mystics. Mercury and Liberty will meet again on Aug 30 next for their final regular-season meeting.

Alyssa Thomas

New York Liberty

Phoenix Mercury

Gulshan Sharma

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A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.