The Liberty suffered their first loss of the season on Thursday night after Chicago Sky defeated New York 90-81 at Barclays Center.
The Sky simply played hard, gritty ball, just like their head coach and Liberty legend Teresa Weatherspoon. They outscored the Liberty 38-35, 11-6 on the offensive boards, outscored New York in the paint 46-36 and turned the ball over less (9-14).
Here are the takeaways…
-The first half of Thursday’s game was probably the worst of the Liberty’s young season. New York struggled on both ends of the floor. They turned the ball over eight times and the Sky turned that into seven points.
The Sky also ran out to a 9-4 fast break point advantage in the first half, outscoring the Liberty in the paint, 18-10. That didn’t help Jonquel Jones was in trouble for most of the first half and picked up her third foul with five minutes left in the second quarter. Overall, Sky rose 40 percent in the first half, compared to 34 percent in New York. Chicago also benefited from the whistle. They made 15 free throws in the first half to New York’s four.
Chicago had an 11-point lead at one point, the largest deficit the Liberty have had this season.
-The Liberty turned things around in the third quarter, being aggressive towards the basket and eventually at the free throw line. They played fast and were in transition to get the easy shots. They would take the lead early in the fourth quarter, their first since it was 11-9, but the Sky would pressure the defense to go on a 6-0 run to regain the lead with 6:30 remaining .
However, Liberty’s turnovers led to easy Sky buckets and New York just couldn’t stop. This was interrupted when the Sky grabbed two offensive rebounds in one possession, leading to a Marina Mabrey three-pointer to put the Sky seven.
-Mabrey was on the heater early and the Liberty had no answers for her. Mabrey made her first four shots (two from three-point range) en route to 12 points at the half. She finished with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting (3-8 from three) with six rebounds and seven assists.
Chicago had five players in double figures: Elizabeth Williams (17), Michaela Onyenwere (13), Chennedy Carter (12), Dana Evans (12) and newcomer Angel Reese (13).
–Sabrina Ionescu was the offensive spark the Liberty needed, especially in the third quarter when they cut into the Sky’s lead. Ionescu used her elusiveness to get to the basket and get some circus shots. It wasn’t enough, however, as Ionescu finished with 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting (2-7 from three) with four rebounds and six assists.
Breanna Stewart didn’t have the usual Stewie game. Stewart finished with 18 points on 5-of-12 shooting with 10 rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block.
-Jones, playing in foul trouble, finished with eight points and four rebounds. Nyara Sabally played 18 minutes off the bench for Jones and picked up six points, four rebounds and two assists.
The Liberty bench was defeated 22-17.
Game MVP: Marina Mabrey
The Sky Guard was surgical in its scoring. Whether it was driving to the basket, a midrange jumper or a three, Mabrey did it all in this game. And her 3-pointer off an offensive rebound to give Chicago some breathing room was a gut punch that New York couldn’t recover from.
Highlights
What’s next
On Saturday, the Liberty will hit the road to take on the Minnesota Lynx. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m
