Natasha Cloud won the battle.
Sabrina Ionescu wins races and wars.
After Washington’s Cloud gave Liberty a “rude awakening” and vowed to stop Ionescu (“From the tip. I’m on Sabrina’s ass”), the trash-talking controller The ball guard has proven her promise with the game of her career.
But it doesn’t matter.
The Liberty still led 90-85 in overtime at Barclays Center to win their first-round playoff series 2-0, and Crowder had to give Ionescu a congratulatory hug afterward.
“It’s definitely spicy,” Brianna Stewart admits. “There were some missed calls, some no calls, that kind of thing. Both teams want to win. [Liberty forward Betnijah Laney] Got a technology. But this is playoff basketball. “
Crowder scored a career-high 33 points and harassed Ionescu – who had 29 points in Game 1 – to just 11 points on 4-of-11 shooting.
“I’m going to be the villain, I’m going to be a dog, and I’m going to stay on Sabrina as long as I can. That’s what it is,” Crowder said.
“I can be a villain. I say what I want to say and I say it from my chest, which can sometimes have a bad effect.”
Liberty responded to Crowder’s defense by taking the ball away from Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot late on.
They launched their attack through Stewart, who scored 6 of his 27 points in overtime in a 14-9 victory over the Mystics.
“I know I said bad words, I know I was in Sabrina’s circle, I know I committed some serious foul play on her,” Crowder said. “Even though I play the villain in the game, I have the utmost respect for who Sabrina is, what she means to our league, and who she is as a player. Iron sharpens iron, that’s what I said to her.
“I really respect her as a player enough for me to make her my main focus in Game 2. But I just want to make sure I say that because everyone likes [WNBA] beef. But I said my word, I had to come in and cash in the deposit I put down. “
