Last time the Chicago Sky entered Barclays Center, it sounded like a home game for Teresa Weatherspoon’s team. The former Liberty great and young superstar Angel Reese were applauded all night en route to the May nine-point win, getting the kind of love felt at Wintrust Arena.
Those same fans returned Thursday night but were eventually drowned out by the Liberty faithful in the home team’s 91-76 win over the Sky. The Sky fans, however, witnessed Angel Reese’s WNBA record of consecutive double-doubles extend to 15 games.
They were part of 17,758 — a sellout crowd — fans hoping to see Reese continue making history. Reese’s double-double was in doubt as she entered the final period with eight points and five rebounds. She managed to make up ground in the fourth by totaling four offensive boards, two of which came within two seconds of each other. Her 10th point — a layup — came at the 3:57 mark and her final rebound came on the offensive glass with 2:12 to spare in the game.
The last rebound caused the Barclays Center crowd to erupt.
“We made it hard for her,” Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello said about Reese, who finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. “She still got her double-double. The fans loved that.”
Reese dealt with fellow All-Star Jonquel Jones, who recorded her own double-double. Jones finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks after combining for just 13 points in the prior two matchups against the Sky.
More touches for Jones led to better results for the Liberty. She found her spots throughout the night as guards Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Vandersloot kept the center involved. Instead of settling for threes, Jones got open in pick-and-roll actions. And instead of looking away from Jones when initially crowded, her teammates moved the ball and fired the high-low entry passes that have been efficient all season.
ALL-STAR JJ IS IN FULL EFFECT 🔥 pic.twitter.com/O54imM3zDi
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 11, 2024
The looks down low opened the floor the Ionescu. After going 1-of-8 for two points by halftime, Ionescu finished with a team-high 21 points. She ended the night shooting 41% (7-of-17) after the poor start.
Ionescu acknowledged that she hung her head during halftime but came back out with the intention of getting the ball in the basket.
“Just continuing to trust the looks I was getting,” she said. “I was getting good looks at the basket, [the shots] were just long.”
She knocked down four treys in the win, including a deep 31-footer with 3:41 remaining in regulation to put her team up nine. Both teams emptied their benches shortly after, signaling the Liberty’s 19th win of the season.
Breanna Stewart finished with 19 points, four boards and six assists. Leonie Fiebich totaled 13 points, four boards and four assists in her start while Betnijah Laney-Hamilton missed her second straight game due to a right knee injury.
KT SAVE ✅ LEO FOR 👌 pic.twitter.com/HLX70kRNmy
— New York Liberty (@nyliberty) July 11, 2024
Kayla Thornton scored 16 points in 28 minutes off the bench. She added four steals on a night she featured endless hustle plays. On one play in the second half, she prevented a fast break by sprinting full speed down the court, which eventually led her inside the tunnel. The New York fans appreciated the effort with an ovation that lasted a few seconds during the dead ball.
“I loved it. It was off of my turnover too so I loved it even more,” Jones said. “She got back there and saved me.”
Chicago’s Chennedy Carter scored a game-high 22 points, enjoying the comfortability at the point of attack with stout defender Laney-Hamilton missing.
The two teams will meet each other again Saturday at Wintrust Arena.
