Liberty continue perfect streak after dominating Angel Reese, lifeless Sky

Fiifi Frimpong, New York Daily News on Jun 10, 2025

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NEW YORK — The wins keep on rolling for the undefeated Liberty.

The defending champions continue to show no hangover after dominating the rebuilding Chicago Sky, 85-66, Tuesday night at Barclays Center.

And the win now puts New York 3-0 in Commissioner’s Cup standing with hopes of landing in the in-season title game for a third consecutive year.

Sandy Brondello didn’t even need the services of Jonquel Jones, who missed her first game of the season due to an ankle injury.

“She’s not quite there, and we’re always about making sure the players ready to come back and close to 100% as possible,” Brondello said pregame of Jones, who avoided any serious injury after hurting her right ankle last Thursday in Washington. “So she’ll be day-to-day. She was on court today, so making progress.”

Nyara Sabally earned her first start of her career in place of Jones and the Liberty didn’t miss a step. Sabally scored the game’s first points and later grabbed an offensive rebound that led to a traditional three-point play. The five points contributed to a quick 10-0 run in the first 2:45 minutes of the game.

Sky head coach Tyler Marsh quickly called a timeout to stop the bleeding. But his team continued to struggle, turning the ball over five times in as many minutes. The road team eventually trailed by 11 while Sabrina Ionesucu and Breanna Stewart scored 10 and nine points, respectively, in the opening period.

Ionescu later finished with 23 points, seven assists and four steals while Stewart logged 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two blocks.

The Sky looked overmatched and struggled to create offense without starting guard Courtney Vandersloot. The former Liberty champion will miss the rest of the 2025 WNBA season after tearing her ACL in Saturday’s loss against the Indiana Fever.

On Tuesday, Vandersloot would’ve received her championship ring and tribute video — like Kayla Thornton did in her return last month— in front of the same Barclays Center crowd that cheered on the Liberty during last year’s thrilling five-game WNBA Finals victory over the Minnesota Lynx.

But after the devastating injury, homecoming celebrations were put on pause. So was Chicago’s offense in the loss.

The Liberty led, 52-32, at halftime.

And they kept their foot on the gas the rest of the way. The Liberty’s defensive pressure is stifling and it only gets worse without an opposing guard to break the point of attack.

The home team won the third quarter, 18-10, as the Sky continued to unravel: Hailey Van Lith dribbled the ball off her leg out of bounds, Angel Reese appeared frustrated and got called for a midcourt flagrant foul that sent Leonie Fiebich to the hardwood and Maddy Westbeld wasn’t on the same page with her teammates as she sent a pass straight out of bounds.

Ionescu’s 27-foot 3-pointer at the 1:19 mark extended the lead to 25 and essentially served as the dagger.

The fourth quarter was all cosmetic. The Liberty’s lead grew to as many as 34 points. Brondello rested most of her starters for a majority of the final period.

Reese finished with a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds. Ariel Atkins (11 points) was the only other Sky player to score in double-digits.

For the Liberty, there’s still no signs of a championship hangover after game No. 9. The defending champs will look to extend the streak Saturday on the road against the Fever.

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