Natasha Cloud, Liberty Make History, Shine in Chicago
Facing the first road game of its debut postseason championship defense, the New York Liberty blew away the competition in the Windy City.
Amidst a historic shooting night, the Liberty handled business at Wintrust Arena on Thursday night, dismantling the Chicago Sky by a 99-74 final in their return to action after five days off.
Newcomer Natasha Cloud led the way with 18 points as one of six New Yorkers to reach double-figures on a historic shooting night. Cloud also dished out eight assists, giving her 17 in her first couple of showings as a New Yorker. That breaks a Liberty record long held by Cappie Pondexter, who had 16 in her own first two showings back in 2010.
After hitting just four from deep in Saturday's season-opening win over Las Vegas, the Liberty (2-0) set a WNBA regular season record by hitting 19 with an extra point on the line. Kennedy Burke sank the landmark-setting tally as part of a 17-point effort off the bench. Burke built most of her tally on a perfect 4-of-4 tally while Cloud was 4-of-5.
Thursday was an emotional day on the Liberty ledgers, as New York faced 2024 champion Courtney Vandersloot for the first time since she returned to Chicago, the site of her first dozen WNBA seasons before her couple of tours in Brooklyn.
Perhaps a bit stagnant from the lack of action and the relative emotion of seeing their old friend, the Liberty struggled in the opening period, leading by just five after the first 10. The big highlight came when Jonquel Jones denied Chicago's sophomore sensation Angel Reese under the basket four times before the possession ended in a futile Kia Nurse three.
Allowed to linger thanks to efforts of Vandersloot, Ariel Atkins, and another ex-New Yorker in Rebecca Allen, Chicago (0-2) eventually lost control thanks to a 15-0 Liberty run that ran into the penultimate minute of the first half.
Despite being outscored 25-9 in the second period, the Sky staged one more push by scoring the first eight points of the latter 20 (punctuated by consecutive triples for Vandersloot and Atkins) but a Cloud heat check that saw her score all but four of her points in the second half, more or less put things out of reach.
Defensively, New York held Reese scoreless until she hit foul shots in the final period though she did acquire a game-best 12 rebounds. Vandersloot paced Chicago starters with 14 points on 5-of-11 from the field while Rachel Banham came off the bench to lead it with 15 on 5-of-7 from three-point range. The Sky visits Brooklyn on June 10, which will see Vandersloot receive her championship ring in a pregame ceremony.
New York's late onslaught, which saw it go 11-of-19 from deep in the second half, helped create more history in the franchise archives, as it produced the 82nd seafoam victory for head coach Sandy Brondello. That moved the Liberty boss into sole possession of third place, with Bill Laimbeer next on the list at 92.
The Liberty wrap up a mini-road trip on Saturday afternoon when they face the Indiana Fever (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.