Valkyries blow out Liberty, 87-70, for Satou Sabally's debut in New York lineup
Sabrina Ionescu was a game-time decision and missed her fifth consecutive game with a foot injury to open the 2026 season.
The New York Liberty are still waiting for Sabrina Ionescu to make her 2026 season debut. But Sabou Sabally took the court for the first time with her new team in Thursday’s 87-70 loss to the Golden State Valkyries at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. In her first game action since October of the 2025 WNBA playoffs, Sabally scored five points with four rebounds and two assists in 16 minutes of play.
(She missed all of Unrivaled’s 2026 campaign while recovering from a concussion sustained during Game 3 of the WNBA Finals against the Las Vegas Aces. ) Play 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world's biggest soccer tournament KNOCK IT DOWN @gabbywilliams15 🗣️ pic. twitter.
com/hcTLJ70Nq9 — Golden State Valkyries (@valkyries) May 22, 2026 Gabby Williams led the Valkyries with 16 points, shooting 4-for-6 from 3-point range. Veronica Burton and Kaila Charles each followed with 13. Burton added seven assists, while Charles tallied four rebounds and seven assists, hitting 3-of-6 3-pointers.
Golden State improved to 3-1 and 2-0 on the road to open the season. Perhaps deflated by the news that Ionescu wouldn’t play, the Liberty dragged through a first quarter in which they were outscored 25-15. New York got almost all of its scoring in those opening 10 minutes from Pauline Astier (seven points) and Breanna Stewart (four).