NEW YORK (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu scored 20 points and the New York Liberty beat the Seattle Storm 74-63 on Monday night, improving to 4-0 for the first time in 17 years.
Breanna Stewart added 16 points and 11 rebounds for New York, which last won its first four games to start a season in 2007. The Liberty, who are coming off an appearance in the WNBA Finals last season, won their first five contests that year before struggling to a 16-18 mark.
Jewell Loyd led Seattle (1-3) with 13 points and nine rebounds.
New York led 50-40 midway through the second quarter before scoring the next seven points, including five by Ionescu, to extend the advantage to 17. The Storm trailed by 15 going into the fourth quarter before scoring the first six points to get within nine, but that's as close as they could come.
New York ran out to a 27-15 lead after one quarter as Ionescu had six points and five assists in the first 10 minutes. The Storm were playing the second half of a back-to-back, as they played in Washington on Sunday.
Star forward Nneka Ogwumike, who signed as a free agent in the offseason, missed her second consecutive game with an ankle injury.
The game slowed down in the second quarter as each team scored just nine points as New York took a 36-24 lead into the half. The teams combined to go 2 for 24 from behind the 3-point line. Seattle missed 12 of its 13 shots and New York was 1 of 11. The Liberty hit 15 3s in the win over Indiana on Saturday.
UP NEXT
Storm: Host Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever on Thursday.
Liberty: Host rookie Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky on Thursday. The Sky are coached by former Liberty star Teresa Weatherspoon.
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