Sabrina Ionescu’s offseason focus paid off in Game 1

Much of Sabrina Ionescu’s offseason work happened for this very reason.

What if opposing defenses – especially the Aces – could limit their 3-point ability?

Could she still find ways to influence the game?

During the offseason, Ionescu tried to improve her first step and her ability to beat defenders off the dribble in order to become less one-dimensional on offense.

That was evident in the Liberty’s 87-77 Game 1 win over the Aces on Sunday night in the WNBA semifinals.

She scored 21 points and recorded a team-high five assists on 9 of 15 shooting from the field.

According to the WNBA’s official statistics, six of their nine field goals came within 1.5 meters of the basket.

Ionescu’s ability to get to the rim has shifted the power dynamic between the two superteams.

“I think it helped the whole season,” Ionescu said after the game. “Just being able to get my head around it, whether it’s getting to the finish, driving, looking for a kick, dropping down to the bigs or trying to find my shooters. But of course the defense collapses any time you can get into the paint.

“I know that’s something I’ve been trying to do all season, but especially in this series, to be able to see that tonight – my driving skills, getting paint contacts and getting a few easy ones and being able to do that “Don’t rely on my shot as much as I probably did in the past, it’s just helped me all around as a player and helped my team.”

It was a strong start to making amends for last year’s disaster.

Ionescu struggled mightily when the Liberty lost to the Aces in four games in the WNBA Finals.

She averaged just 9.8 points on a pitiful shooting percentage of 31.6 percent.

In this entire series, Ionescu only made one shot from less than three feet away from the basket.

As the Liberty seek revenge, Ionescu has emerged as a completely new player.

This ability to collapse defenses opened up space for Stewart to dominate.

She scored a game-high 34 points on 12 of 19 shooting from the field, as well as five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

And most importantly, she completely outclassed A’ja Wilson, the WNBA’s MVP.

Stewart won MVP last year, but Wilson ended up having the last laugh.

Stewart averaged 16.3 points and shot a brutal 36.2 percent from the field in last year’s series.

And Wilson shone with an average of 21.3 points on 50 percent shooting from the field.

In one game the roles were reversed.

“I just wanted to come out, set the tone, be aggressive and really embrace what the defense was giving me,” Stewart said. “They switched a little bit, sometimes not, so I could go downhill, get to the post and be confident shooting from behind the three.”

Then there is the defensive end.

The Aces often hunted Ionescu on defense, identifying her as the weakest link on that side of the ball. Ionescu usually guarded Jackie Young, who dominated the game – she averaged 18.5 points on an outstanding 51 percent shooting percentage from the field.

Young scored 17 points on Sunday night, but only made 6 of 16 shots (37.5 percent) from the field. Ionescu recorded two steals and a block.

“I felt very solid defensively and also understood how to assert myself in the passing lanes,” said Ionescu. “Just keep playing for our scout [report]. Many of these players we know for the second time after seeing them. I understand all the looks they will give us. I feel like we prepared really well and came out in Game 1 and executed exactly what we were supposed to.

“Personally, I will of course continue to do everything I can to slow Jackie down. Obviously she’s a great player for them. I’m going to continue to do what I can defensively to get as many stops as I can and make it difficult.”