Sabrina Ionescu and Nyara Sabally parade through New York after the WNBA Championship

The Liberty won the WNBA Finals in a hard-fought fifth overtime battle against the Minnesota Lynx with a final score of 67-62. The first two players contributed to this historic victory and the play-off stage Oregon ducks: guard Sabrina Ionescu and Nyara Sabally.

Before the floats and cars even hit the streets of Downtown Manhattan, online detractors claimed that New York’s crowds simply wouldn’t show up for New York Liberty WNBA Championship parade. Critics couldn’t have been more wrong as the streets were packed with fans for the third-ever Women’s Tape Parade in the Big Apple.

Sabally excelled in the final competition and won the title. Sabally entered Game 5 with Liberty trailing by seven points in the first half. With back-to-back layups assisted by Ionescu, Sabally was able to give Liberty its first lead of the game. In the third quarter, Sabally committed a 3-4 foul and scored nine points for her team. She also improved in overtime with a steal and interception to help Liberty win. She finished the game with 13 points and six rebounds.

Ionescu, on the other hand, did not play her best match in the final. She shot 1-19 in the match and mainly assisted on defense. Although Ionescu didn’t have a hot streak in Game 5, she was a key player in the regular season and playoffs that helped Liberty win rings after all these years.

Moreover, considering both women were out during the 2019-2020 season Oregon women’s basketball team who likely would have won the NCAA title had their season not been canceled due to Covid, there was plenty to celebrate when they were finally ringed.

During the parade, Sabally and her sister Satou Sabally (both of whom played for Oregon in their collegiate careers) along with Ionescu greeted the thousands of fans who showed up for the winners. Ionescu even stepped into the crowd to say hello.

Ionescu he wore a custom-made Nike jacket to the parade. This black leather piece had several personal touches to the design, including Liberty’s 2-0 playoff record against the Atlanta Dream, 3-1 against the Las Vegas Aces, and 3-2 against the Minnesota Lynx. The jacket also featured slogans such as “Liberty has a nice ring to it” and “Yerrrnescu” sewn into the jacket, referencing the athlete and her team. Ionescu also had the Sabrina “S” logo on her upper left sleeve.

Ionescu fans may remember that the star wore the Oregon Ducks “Sabrina 2” kicks in the green and yellow color scheme during the WNBA Finals as a nod to the Ducks football program, which defeated Ohio State 32-31.

Ionescu also participated in the famous “Night, Night, Night” celebrations, enjoying the parades.

Sabally wore a New York Liberty graphic T-shirt, leather work jacket and skirt to the parade. She also wore a WNBA champion’s hat, which she gave to her sister Satou when Liberty won the title. Satou also wrote about her sisters’ victory after the match.

Liberty’s victory makes Oregon one of three collegiate schools in the country to have both the WNBA (Ionescu and Sabally) and NBA (Payton Pritchard) champions.