Sabrina Ionescu’s offseason focus paid Game 1 dividends for Liberty after last year’s Aces disaster

So much of Sabrina Ionescu’s offseason work was for this exact reason.

What if opposing defenses — specifically the Aces — were able to limit her 3-point prowess?

Could she still find ways to impact the game?

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

It was evident in the Liberty’s 87-77 Game 1 win over the Aces 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.

Six of her nine field goals came less than five feet from the basket, per the WNBA’s official stats.

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

“I think it’s helped all season,” Ionescu said after the game. “Just being able to get into the paint, whether it’s finishing, driving, looking to kick, whether it’s dump off to the bigs or trying to find my shooters. But obviously anytime you’re able to get into the paint, it collapses the defense.

“I know that’s something I’ve tried to do all season long, but especially in this series, to be able to see that tonight — my driving ability, to be able to get paint touches and get some easy ones in and be able to rely on my shot not as much as I probably have in the past, it’s just helped me all around as a player and helped my team.”

It was a strong start toward atoning for last year’s disaster.

Ionescu struggled mightily as the Liberty lost to the Aces in four games in the WNBA finals.

She averaged just 9.8 points on woeful 31.6 percent shooting from the field.

In that entire series, Ionescu only made one shot from less than five feet from the basket.

As the Liberty look for vengeance, Ionescu has elevated into a completely new player.

That 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 along with five rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block.

And, notably, she completely outplayed 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 in last year’s series, shooting a brutal 36.2 percent from the field.

And Wilson cruised, averaging 21.3 points on 50 percent shooting from the field.

Through one game, the roles have been reversed.

“I just wanted to come out, set the tone, be aggressive, really kind of take what the defense was giving me,” Stewart said. “They were switching a little bit, sometimes they weren’t switching, so was able to get downhill, get in the post and be confident when I’m shooting behind the three.”

Then there’s 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 owned the matchup – she averaged 18.5 points on stellar 51 percent shooting from the field.

Young scored 17 points Sunday night, but it came on just 6 of 16 shooting (37.5 percent) from the field. Ionescu recorded two steals and a block.

“I felt really solid defensively, also understanding ways I can get in passing lanes,” Ionescu said. “Just continue to play to our scout [report]. We’re really familiar with a lot of these players the second time around after seeing them. Understanding all the looks that they’re gonna throw at us. I feel like we prepared really well, came out in Game 1 and executed exactly how we were supposed to.

“Personally, obviously, I’m gonna continue to do what I can to try to slow Jackie down. Obviously she’s a great player for them. Just gonna continue to do what I can on the defensive end to try and get as many stops as I can and make things difficult.”