Photo by CSOM Sports
The Chicago Sky opened their 2025 home season with another blowout loss. Chicago has now lost their first two games by a combined 60 points.
The Liberty made a WNBA record 19 three-pointers and scored 27 points off of 23 Sky turnovers. New York would take a 21-point lead into the half. Chicago only shot 31% at that point of the game, and star forward Angel Reese hadn't recorded a point.
Reese looked uncomfortable throughout the game. She didn't score her first points until the fourth quarter at the free throw line. “Some of [her shots] were rushed,” coach Tyler Marsh said. “That was really it. Angel knows that we have confidence in her. We have constant belief in all our players to make those. It’s not going to be often that we have a ton of misses like this.”
Chicago's offensive attack feels out of sync right now. Turnovers also continue to plague the Sky. The Sky's nine-point second quarter is not something they can afford to have, especially playing the defending champion New York Liberty. A go-to scorer has also not emerged, either. The team needs to decide if the offense will run through Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso or Ariel Atkins.
This trend can’t continue if the Sky want to return to the playoffs. Chicago needs to get more from Ariel Atkins and Kia Nurse. Atkins had eight points and four fouls through three quarters on Thursday. Nurse was better at taking open shots against New York, but she needs to consistently knock them down to keep defenses honest. Nurse and Atkins were added in the offseason because Chicago wanted to space the floor and open up lanes to the basket for Reese and Cardoso.
Courtney Vandersloot, playing against her former team scored 14 points while Rachel Banham and Rebecca Allen chipped in 15 and 11 points off the bench. The Liberty had a balanced offense with five players scoring in double digits, led by Natasha Cloud with 18 points.