Quick Three: Sky 90 Liberty 81
Shorthanded Chicago ends their season-opening road swing with a stunning upset of New York--WNBA finalists a season ago.
After Diamond DeShields and Isabelle Harrison were both confirmed as absentees from Thursday’s game against New York due to injury, the Sky’s chances of pulling off an upset over the unbeaten Liberty were drastically reduced. With plenty of size on the bench and the league’s most dangerous center in the starting line-up, Sandy Brondello’s fully-healthy roster had all the options one could ask for against a team with just three healthy players over 6’0”. Yet, Chicago simply found a way to overcome those obstacles against an opponent who, even with both teams at full strength, would’ve gone into tonight’s game as comfortable favorites. Let’s dive into some takeaways from tonight’s brilliant performance before all focus turns to Saturday night’s home opener against the Sun (who won in OT against the Lynx tonight to stay perfect).
1. Marina Mabrey = Tempo Setter
As is to be expected against a team as good as the Liberty, several individuals needed to (and did) play well for Chicago to get the win. However, make no mistake, Marina Mabrey put the Sky on her back tonight. She scored a game-high 21 points on 8/13 FG but what stands out even more is her 100% field goal percentage on two-point attempts and her 7 assists. Those two numbers speak to the control she had on both the Sky offense and the tempo of the game as a whole tonight. Shots from long range (where she was a solid 3/8) will always have some degree of variance with good looks falling and bad ones dropping on occasion, but the way Mabrey manipulated the defense when she went inside the arc was masterful. It all started early when Mabrey, on the break, was already toying with the New York defense to create a great scoring opportunity for Lindsay Allen.
In the end, that one play turned out to be reflective of what Mabrey showed throughout the course of the game. When the situation called for her to go fast, she went fast. When she needed to be patient, she was patient. In addition, she mixed up her tempos well and dominated post-ups when opportunities arose (especially in the fourth against Courtney Vandersloot). Her work on the glass, like in Dallas last weekend, was also important for a Sky team who was without 3 of its 6 tallest players but still won the rebounding battle (38-35). She grabbed six boards—marking her third straight game with 6+ to open the year—and was quick to get her head up, scan the floor and dissect the situation before diving into an attack on the Liberty’s transition defense after each. And speaking of defense, Mabrey put in another solid defensive outing despite facing various match-ups throughout the night in DeShields’ absence. Roll all that together and you get a dominant performance where, against four of the biggest names in the W, Mabrey was the best player on the floor.
Her leadership, too, has clearly been of great value to the Sky. She’s an emotional player and, thus, a vocal leader for the group, but she’s also leading by example with her play. Her ability to pair a high-energy approach with a measured and patient style seemed to permeate throughout the team tonight and helped the Sky to have a lot of success in the half-court—especially in the second half.
2. Dana Evans & Angel Reese Turn Up in the Fourth
Again, this was a comprehensive team effort. And, the Sky may not have closed this game late if not for the duo of Evans and Reese. Evans, off the back of a slow start in Dallas and shooting just 2/8 through three quarters, came alive in the fourth quarter with a key defensive play leading to a transition score that, in many ways, killed off any hopes of a late Liberty comeback. Just in case New York had anything left in the tank, Evans and Reese combined for two further scores in the final four minutes of the game while also chipping in on defense— where Chicago held the Liberty to just 10 points in the final five minutes after trading buckets throughout much of the second half to that point.
For me, the key takeaway from Evans’ performance was that both she and her head coach kept faith in her performance. With Allen and Chennedy Carter adding valuable contributions at both ends off the bench, Weatherspoon could easily have gone with one or both alongside Mabrey in the closing five. Instead, the Sky’s rookie head coach made a veteran decision to keep one of her most valuable players in the rotation in spite of a spotty offensive performance. Evans, of course, responded with great defense but was also able to heat up in the final frame—no doubt fueled by the confidence her coach placed in her. That said, the self confidence aspect is also important. Evans has never been a shy player, and it’s good to see her continue with an attack-first mentality even when the shots weren’t falling. Crucially, a lot of her misses tonight were also inside the paint. I’ve talked at length about how Evans’ two-point percentage will need to trend upwards with time, but those shots, as opposed to missed spot-up threes, provide value for the offense even when they don’t go in. As we saw in the final minutes, the opposing defense is forced to react when Evans drives, and even a miss can be profitable—especially when Reese is under the basket.
And speaking of Reese, it was another strong showing for the LSU grad even before her and Evans’ fourth quarter exploits. Again, the efficiency will need to come with time (3/10 FG), but the fact that Reese is such a valuable contributor even when she’s not hitting shots says a lot about what she can grow into long term. She was strong on the glass (9 rebounds) and affected a lot of Liberty shots at the basket—even if she’s still waiting to register her first WNBA block. Like with Evans, Weatherspoon and her staff are carefully putting Reese in positions where she can be successful. The Sky got Reese lots of opportunities to work off the dribble, and she was able to get to the line 9 times as a result. Crucially, she’s also settled in at the line after struggling on opening night—making 12/16 FT in the last two victories. If this is the “worst” Reese will ever be as a pro, the Sky front office will wind up looking extremely clever for picking her 7th overall.
3. Shorthanded Bench Bests Liberty’s Depth
The Sky bench—comprised of just three players who saw the floor tonight—outscoring the Liberty’s highly-talented and fully-healthy bench group was definitely not something I had on my bingo card prior to tonight’s game. And yet, by a score of 22-17, Chicago’s reserves did just that. Carter (12) and Allen (8) did the majority of the heavy lifting, and each had a unique impact during a key phase of the game. With her pace, energy and defensive capabilities, Carter was—alongside Mabrey—very much the Sky’s tempo setter early. With the Liberty having played just a few nights earlier and Chicago on four days’ rest, there was no reason to be groggy, but Carter ensured that the Sky were injected with an extra dose of enthusiasm when she checked in after six-and-a-half minutes. Her all-gas, no brakes approach to transition offense allowed the Sky to pile up the fast break points in the first half and perfectly complemented the more patient approach that Mabrey was bringing—creating a lot of confusion for the Liberty’s transition defense.
Meanwhile, Carter’s defensive work against Sabrina Ionescu, as I hinted at before the game, turned out to be a big factor in making the Liberty guard’s life as difficult as possible early. While Ionescu still found success (19 p) and was very effective going downhill, Carter’s peskiness contributed to keeping a good scoring half from becoming a great one. Given how much the Liberty’s other stars struggled to hit shots (or in Jonquel Jones’ case stay on the floor), the work done to slow Ionescu was key in keeping the Liberty at an arm’s length before the Sky closed the deal late.
And when it came to closing time, Allen’s approach was exactly what the Sky needed. While Evans, Mabrey and Reese were adding all sorts of explosiveness and energy, Allen and Elizabeth Williams (who, based on her excellent performance, should’ve gotten more love in this post) were exactly the steadying presence that the closing group needed. Allen, in large part, was able to fade into the shadows by playing mistake free basketball but proved to be flawless when the spotlight did shine her way—cleverly finding the holes in the defense and finishing as a +12 in just 19 minutes (only Williams [+17] was better for the Sky). I don’t want to beat a dead horse when it comes to praising Teresa Weatherspoon, but this rotational management feels like another masterstroke. The Sky had just nine active players tonight and only seven played a massive role, but she still had each and every player on the court in the exact moment they seemed most likely to have a positive impact on the result. If it’s not too soon for an early season report card, I’m ready to give Weatherspoon an A+ for the job she’s doing.