Liberty’s Satou Sabally questionable after suffering facial injury

LAS VEGAS — Satou Sabally’s status for Thursday’s game in Seattle is in question after she exited early in Tuesday’s win against the Aces due to a facial injury.

Sabally exited with 6:17 left in the second quarter. She didn’t rejoin the team on the floor after halftime and was ruled out by the end of the third quarter.

It’s not immediately clear when Sabally suffered the facial injury.

She appeared to get hit in the head by NaLyssa Smith near the 5:31 mark of the first quarter. After the contact — which Sabally was called for the foul — the Liberty forward sat on the floor for a moment, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes. Sabally checked out shortly thereafter.

She reentered the game to start the second quarter before checking out for the final time.

After the 87-76 win, coach Chris DeMarco said Sabally will “be all right.” He said she wasn’t being evaluated for a concussion.

The injury is obviously extra concerning given her concussion history. Sabally was helped off the floor in Game 3 of the 2026 WNBA Finals and later ruled out with a concussion.

Lingering concussion symptoms impacted her offseason. She didn’t play at Unrivaled and didn’t return to basketball activities until March.

Satou Sabally (0) gets hit in the head after fouling NaLyssa Smith in the first quarter of the Liberty’s win over the Aces. After briefly reentering the game in the second quarter, she was force to sit the rest of the game. Getty Images

Sabally was the biggest outside free agent the Liberty signed this offseason. She missed the first few games of the season with a cyst and was also temporarily sidelined because of an undisclosed illness.

Sabally returned to the starting lineup Sunday after coming off the bench for eight games.

She’s averaging 10.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 38.5 percent deep in 13 games.

Satou Sabally is listed as questionable for the Liberty’s game against the Storm on Thursday, June 25, 2026. NBAE via Getty Images

The Liberty snapped a two-game losing skid with Tuesday’s win, which was arguably their best of the season.

They are 12-6, which is good for fourth in the WNBA standings, heading into Thursday’s game against the 3-15 Seattle Storm, coached by former Liberty assistant Sonia Raman.

The Storm haven’t won a game in a month, losing 11 consecutive contests.