Sabrina Ionescu’s Reaction to Successful Challenge When Up by 46 Points Does Not Sit Well with Fans: “Kind of cringe”

Sabrina Ionescu and her New York Liberty are gunning for a second-straight WNBA title after opening the season unbeaten.

Sabrina Ionescu’s Reaction to Successful Challenge When Up by 46 Points Does Not Sit Well with Fans: “Kind of cringe”

Sabrina Ionescu celebrated winning a coaching challenge (Image via FirstSportz)

Ever since Sabrina Ionescu came in from college to the New York Liberty, she has seen the lowest of lows and the highest of highs. Those experiences have helped her keep her drive going, and her team is now on an unbeaten winning streak.

One of those came against Caitlin Clark and her Indiana Fever, after which the Fever guard suffered a quad injury. However, that game was the closest among all they had contested so far. That dominance relayed what early-season predictions said about the defending champions.

Earlier tonight, they were to face one of the worst teams in the league in the Connecticut Sun. At home, buoyed by their home fans, the Liberty raced off to a blistering start, leading at the half by a score of 60-28.

In the 3rd quarter, knowing their opponents would try to stage a comeback, the defending champions played standout defense and offense to lead by 46 points with more than 5 minutes left. At this point, officials called a foul on Sabrina Ionescu, and she asked her coaches to challenge the call.

A video clip uploaded on the New York Liberty’s official X account shows that as soon as the foul was overturned, the basketball 3-point contest record holder could not contain her excitement. She ran onto the court, interrupting Ellie the Elephant’s dance routine

She then threw her arms in the air to show how happy she was. Then she dapped up her coaches on the sideline and looked towards the crowd, hyping them up. It seemed as if she was ecstatic that her foul was overturned more than how good her team was playing.

Fans take offense at Sabrina Ionescu’s behavior

Basketball fans watching Sabrina Ionescu hysterically react to an overturned foul call did not appreciate her antics. They believe it was unsportsmanlike, especially when her team was up by 46 points. They felt as if she were intentionally rubbing more salt into their wounds.

Fans believe she did not show enough class and just continued with the game. They felt she wanted to make the situation all about herself. Fans reacted to that clip on the New York Liberty’s page, examples of which are below.

Basketball fans have seen quite a few examples of players trying to insult other teams with late-game dunks and shots. But this was with more than one and a half quarters left to play, and they believe these antics were a way to humiliate the Connecticut Sun.

They are already struggling with chemistry issues and overall effort. This game made their situation worse, and it seemed as if they had given up early in the game. To add more insult to injury was not the way a champion should have behaved.

Marina Mabrey notches unwanted WNBA record

The New York Liberty won the game with a score of 100-52. That 48-point win becomes the 2nd highest margin of deficit of any game in WNBA history. However, another record tumbled today, and it was not the kind Connecticut Sun’s leading superstar Marina Mabrey would have wanted.

Marina Mabrey had a terrible game against the New York Liberty
Marina Mabrey had a terrible game against the New York Liberty (Image via Open Source/X)

The 28-year-old scored 8 points off 2-11 shooting. Along with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 turnovers, and 5 personal fouls, the Notre Dame alum ended up with a +/- of -55. That happens to be the worst single-game performance in WNBA history.

Considering how Marina Mabrey is expected to lead the charge for the Sun, this performance will come as a shocker. It is also a few months removed from her trade request, which could indicate that she wanted to play for a contender instead of babysitting young players throughout a trying season.

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