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Liberty Make Astonishing WNBA History With Shooting Clinic in Rout of Sky

The Liberty drained 19 three-pointers Thursday.

Blake Silverman

New York Liberty guard Ionescu looks to shoot against the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena.
New York Liberty guard Ionescu looks to shoot against the Chicago Sky at Wintrust Arena. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
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The New York Liberty couldn't miss Thursday night during their 99–74 blowout win over the Chicago Sky. The defending champs' shooting clinic was so impressive, it set a WNBA record.

New York went 19-for-34 on three-pointers in the victory, a whopping 55.9% from deep. And no other WNBA team has made 19 threes in a game. Early in the league's 29th season, there's a new shooting record to chase.

Teams have made 18 threes in a game six times total, with the Liberty as the most recent team to reach that number when they did so against the Phoenix Mercury last season.

Natasha Cloud and Kennedy Burke led New York with four threes apiece in the record-setting night Thursday in Chicago. Jonquel Jones added three treys, with Sabrina Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and Nyara Sabally making two each. Leonie Fiebich and Rebekah Gardner rounded the hot shooting out with one three each.

With just 1:34 left, Burke made her fourth three, making her a perfect 4-for-4 in the game, to give the Liberty their 19th three and set the record. With the win over the Sky, the Liberty advance to 2–0 after they beat the Las Vegas Aces in their season opener and ring night Saturday. With another big loss, the Sky start their season 0–2.

The Liberty have Caitlin Clark's high-powered shooting next on the schedule as they travel to Indiana to play the Fever on Saturday.

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Blake Silverman
BLAKE SILVERMAN

Blake Silverman is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, he covered the WNBA, NBA, G League and college basketball for numerous sites, including Winsidr, SB Nation's Detroit Bad Boys and A10Talk. He graduated from Michigan State University before receiving a master's in sports journalism from St. Bonaventure University. Outside of work, he's probably binging the latest Netflix documentary, at a yoga studio or enjoying everything Detroit sports. A lifelong Michigander, he lives in suburban Detroit with his wife, young son and their personal petting zoo of two cats and a dog.

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