It turns out the Liberty’s 101-53 beatdown by the Sky in the preseason wasn’t meaningless, after all.
It was a warning of what was to come.
For the first time this year, the Liberty looked mortal. For the first time this year, the Liberty looked beatable. For the first time this year, the Liberty were bullied.
And for the first time this year, the Liberty lost, 90-81, to the Sky on Thursday night at Barclays Center.
Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said before the game that her team was “complacent” during its ugly preseason loss earlier this month. Thursday night, the Liberty were just discombobulated.
“We didn’t have the mindset,” Brondello said. “I said that’s a tough matchup for us because they’re very aggressive in what they do. It was tough for us all night long. We all need to take ownership. … We’re not where we need to be. We need to have a little more grittiness and griminess and resiliency, and we didn’t show that tonight.”
The Liberty (4-1) trailed by 11 in the third quarter, but Sabrina Ionescu subsequently sparked a furious 11-0 run and the Liberty tied the game, 45-45, with 5:24 left in the quarter. And it was Ionescu who later expertly found a cutting Jonquel Jones with 7:44 left in the fourth quarter to give the Liberty a 68-67 lead — their first since a 9-6 lead with 5:29 left in the first quarter.
Surely, last year’s WNBA runners-up were about to blow the game open.
But the Sky (2-1) responded with a knockout blow. They ripped off a 13-3 run to reestablish a nine-point lead and never looked back.
“I think we were just settling,” Ionescu said. “It wasn’t anything that they necessarily did, I think we all just came down and didn’t take our best shots. Offensively, we were rushed. We were taking the first available shot instead of our best shot.”
Despite spending the last two days stressing that they knew what was coming their way, the Liberty allowed the Sky to do what they do best: create turnovers and score in transition. Entering Thursday ranked in the top three in the WNBA in per-game steals, blocks and fast-break points, the Sky hounded the Liberty and produced 14 turnovers and 19 fast-break points Thursday night, owning a 19-11 advantage in the latter.
Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, a Liberty Ring of Honor member and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer, received a loud ovation and was given a video tribute in the first quarter.
the Liberty’s loss. Noah K. Murray-NY Post
She is in her first season in charge of Chicago.
Sky rookie Angel Reese — drafted No. 7 last month after starring for 2023 champion LSU — got a good reception as well when she was introduced, a testament to her popularity and impact on women’s basketball.
She finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Marina Mabrey paced the Sky with 21 points.
“It was a bad night in the office,” Brondello said. “It’s not the end of the world. The sun comes up tomorrow. We’re gonna learn from it and move forward and get ready for Minnesota.”
