Liberty Dominates Sky in Chicago

In Chicago, Johnkell Jones had a feeling that Thursday’s game would be challenging.

Turns out, he was a bit off. The defending WNBA champions cruised to a 99-74 victory, marking their second win of the season.

During the fourth quarter, as Breanna Stewart and Leonie Fiebich sported towels over their shoulders, Jones opted for a Liberty T-shirt. Meanwhile, Sabrina Ionescu was seen chuckling about something with her teammate on the bench.

These are the kinds of moments that only strong teams experience during decisive wins.

After a rough start to the season opener, where they made only four three-pointers shooting at 19%, the Liberty shattered the record for the most three-pointers made by a team in a game.

Kennedy Burke hit the 19th three-pointer in the fourth quarter, contributing to a remarkable 55.9% success rate from beyond the arc.

Natasha Cloud was impressive with 18 points and eight assists, while Burke came off the bench to add 17 points.

However, it wasn’t a flawless performance for the Liberty. At times, their play seemed a bit disjointed.

For a more structured and efficient team like the Fever, against whom the Liberty will play on Saturday, that might have caused bigger issues.

Liberty struggled with turnovers, committing 20 during the game, which could have been a concern if facing a stronger opponent.

Chicago, on the other hand, seems to be searching for its identity while adjusting to a new system with first-year head coach Tyler Marsh.

They are working on integrating three new starting guards and two young post players, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese, into their lineup.

This gave the Liberty some breathing room, especially in the second quarter.

Even with Ionescu sitting for much of it after picking up her third foul, the Liberty managed to hold a 21-point lead at halftime, outscoring the Sky 25-9.

The Sky emerged from the break with renewed energy, quickly narrowing Liberty’s lead to 13 with an 8-0 run.

That was about as close as they got.

Later on, Reese drew frustration after an offensive foul call and ended up receiving her second technical foul of the season.

By the end of the third quarter, the Liberty had regained a comfortable 21-point advantage.