Liberty at Sky Preview: Liberty Seek Chicago Style Sweep

The New York Liberty wrap up a home-and-home set against the Chicago Sky on Saturday afternoon.

Brandon Todd, NY Liberty

The New York Liberty are looking for that same old place: sweep home Chicago.

After some tough dealings with the Chicago Sky in the early portions of this season, New York has chance at clinching a vital sweep of a home-and-home set on Saturday afternoon at Wintrust Arena. It's part of a speedy, sensational stretch to close out the pre-All-Star/Olympic break slate, one that caps off with a visit from the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday night.

The Liberty took revenge on the Sky, the lone team to beat them at Barclays Center this season, with a 91-76 final that saw New York erase an early 13-point deficit behind second half breakouts for Sabrina Ionescu and Kayla Thornton, who united for 30 points in the last 20. New York allowed Angel Reese to land her daily double-double but it took until her literal last second, as she had 10 points and rebounds each in defeat.

This will be the fourth and final meeting between the Liberty and Sky this season. New York holds the 2-1 advantage, previously prevailing in the first Chicago-based tilt back in early June but the Sky also carry a 48-point preseason victory that unofficially opened the season.

The Liberty will be missing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton for the third straight game due to a knee injury while Breanna Stewart (hamstring) will also miss his first tilt of the season.

What: New York Liberty (19-4) @ Chicago Sky (9-13)

Where: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, IL

When/Watch: Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, ABC

Who's Favored: NYL -6.5

Keep An Eye On: Kennedy Burke

With Laney-Hamilton and Stewart out (the latter more or less precautionary), Liberty head coach Brondello has opted to keep Thornton's depth talents on the bench and go for Stewart's former Seattle teammate Kennedy Burke in the starting five. Burke has show a shifty ability to infiltrate the paint and has also posted strong defense. Landing opening five trust is a landmark for Burke, who fell behind WNBA rookie Leonie Fiebich on the de facto depth chart. It'll be interesting to see what Burke brings to a smaller New York lineup against Chicago's dominant interior headlined by rookies Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.

Chicagoan to Watch: Marina Mabrey

Much has been made about Ionescu's ongoing streak with at least one three-pointer, currently at 48 to create the third-longest in WNBA history. Mabrey had a similarly handsome streak stopped at 36 at the end of June but she has proven equally deadly from deep: New York, already the victim of a 21-point showing from Mabrey back in May, allowed her to get off to a hot start with a 4-of-5 out from three in the first 20 but clamped down the perimeter after that: Mabrey was not afforded a try from deep in the second half as Chicago was forced to score nearly 70 percent of its points in the paint.

They Said It

"Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart. They anchor us. We do a good job of protecting the rim...she's tough competitor. We have to be locked in. That's what the players were."-Brondello on stopping Angel Reese

Prediction

Though they're taking things personally against Chicago the right way, the Liberty are remaining smart as they prepare to get back on the road toward a championship come the second half. That may come with some sacrifices in the meantime, such as sitting Stewart for a game against Angel Reese, but New York has more than enough firepower to, at the very, very least, keep things interesting throughout the afternoon.

Sky 74, Liberty 72

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