WNBA Star Shatters Single-Game 3-Point Record, Dominates with Physical Play in Sky Rout

CHICAGO — According to Jonquel Jones, Thursday’s game against Chicago wouldn’t be an easy win. She anticipated that it would be a physically demanding match due to the way the Sky compete.

Jones was correct regarding the intensity, yet Thursday’s 99-74 triumph seemed like a breeze for the reigning WNBA champions, boosting their record to 2-0 for the season.

Breanna Stewart and Leonie Fiebich had towels over their shoulders, and Jones tugged on a Liberty jersey in the final period.

Sabrina Ionescu was chuckling alongside her teammates on the sidelines.

The usual actions of leading teams when they have a significant lead.

Following their performance of hitting just four three-point shots at an 19% clip during their opening victory on Saturday, the Liberty shattered a league mark on Thursday by sinking the highest number of triples ever recorded by a single team in a match after Kennedy Burke made their 19th trey from beyond the arc in the final period.

As a group, they made 55.9 percent of their shots from beyond the arc.

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Natasha Cloud led the Liberty with 18 points and eight assists, and Burke added 17 points off the bench.

The Liberty bolted ahead during the second quarter.

Despite Ionesco spending much of the time on the bench after receiving her third foul, the Liberty still managed to outscore the Sky 25-9, taking a 21-point lead into halftime.

The sky emerged from the locker room aggressively.

They scored eight consecutive points, cutting the Liberty’s lead down to 13, prompting coach Sandy Brondello to call for a timeout.

That was as close as the Sky would come.

This break allowed the Liberty to refocus, and subsequently, the Sky rapidly fell apart.

Angel Reese was called for an offensive foul and subsequently got her second technical foul of the year due to disputing the decision.

The Liberty saw their lead increase to 21 points by the end of the third quarter.

In their opening two matches of the season, The Liberty surpassed 90 points in each game. However, Thursday’s performance fell significantly short of their previous standards.

At times, their offense appeared disorganized, particularly during the first half, and they made 20 turnovers.

It would have presented greater challenges when facing a well-organized, highly functional team like Caitlin Clark’s Fever, whom the Liberty will be playing on Saturday.

But compared to the sky, it was insignificant.

I was not satisfied at halftime,” Brondello stated. “Everything felt awkward for us. The score aside, we lacked speed, intensity, and proper positioning moving ahead.

The Liberty gave the Sky the chance to shoot 25 free throws, but they made only 52 percent of those attempts. Meanwhile, Chicago dominated rebounding, securing 36 boards compared to the visitors’ 28.

A number of aspects require improvement,” Brondello stated. “Clearly, I am pleased since we secured a victory, yet our performance on defense is far from what it should be. Overall, I felt we were competent; however, there were also instances where we faltered.

Chicago is a squad that’s seeking its identity as they implement a new system under their inaugural head coach, Tyler Marsh.

They are still working on building teamwork among their trio of new starting guards and two youthful frontcourt players, Kamilla Cardoso and Reese.

Unbeaten so far, the Liberty will have their flawless record challenged on Saturday when they play in Indiana.

However, the Liberty were going to savor this delightful triumph for the evening.

“ It creates momentum heading into the next game,” Burke stated. “We face a challenging opponent ahead and we must remain ready both offensively and defensively; we need to improve.”