After falling to the Indiana Fever 93-58 in the season opener, the Chicago Sky struggled to bounce back in front of their home crowd.
The New York Liberty arrived at Wintrust Arena looking the part of the defending champions. They ran the Sky off the court to the tune of a 99-74 victory, leaving them on the wrong side of history. According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, the Sky’s -60 point differential is the worst mark any team has faced through their two games in WNBA history. But, wait, that was not the only record broken on Thursday night.
The Liberty’s blowout effort was largely due to a never-before-seen shooting night. The team shot 19-34 from long range, breaking the all-time record for three-point makes in a game. They drained 11 of those threes in the second half.
Chicago Sky Off to Rough Start …
With the Fever and Liberty on deck first, there is no question the Chicago Sky were dealt one of the toughest draws to begin the year. Regardless, the back-to-back blowout losses should prove to be an eye-opener for a team that hopes to return to the playoffs this season.
The organization made a slew of offseason moves to bolster the supporting cast around Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. Not only did they add veteran role players like Kia Nurse and Rebecca Allen into the fold, but they brought back franchise legend Courtney Vandersloot and traded the No. 3 overall pick for All-Star All-WNBA talent Ariel Atkins. Add in a first-year head coach in Tyler Marsh, and this group knew they had a steep learning curve ahead of them.
“We have a lot to work on and a lot to improve. We’re not going to let two losses stop us on the path we’re choosing,” Courtney Vandersloot said after the game.
While chemistry was a key talking point throughout training camp and preseason, this group is still waiting for that to translate to the court. Turnovers have been a clear indicator of this, as they coughed up 17 against the Fever before handing the Liberty 24. New York also managed to score 27 points off those Sky mistakes, propelling them toward their dominant win.
Defensive communication has also been an early flaw. Whether it be missed rotations or late contests, this group has struggled mightily to play connected on that end of the floor. With that said, there isn’t much you can do when a team gets as hot as the Liberty did behind the arc.
Panic did not enter the room during the postgame press conference despite the obvious struggles. While there may have been an undertone of frustration, head coach Tyler Marsh and veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot vowed to solve the early season problems. Their next chance will be on Sunday against the Los Angeles Sparks.
“It’s not going to be often that there’s going to many nights like this,” head coach Tyler Marsh declared.
