The No. 7 New York Liberty upset No. 2 Chicago Sky 98-91 to win Game 1 of the first-round series Wednesday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The Sky are the reigning champions, having won the No. 6 seed title last season.
Game 2 is Saturday back in Chicago. Tipping time is noon ET. on ESPN. If the series goes to Game 3, it goes to Barclays Center in New York, giving Liberty a home field advantage.
It’s the Liberty’s first playoff win since September 23, 2015. They made the playoffs last year and took the Phoenix Mercury to the final seconds, falling a point behind. The 98 points is a playoff record for the franchise.
New York was six behind at 3:32 on the clock. They put up a 13-0 run to end the game, which started with another beautiful pass from Marine Johannes to a wide-open Natasha Howard in the paint. Chicago missed 10 of their last 11 shots and turned over the ball at crucial moments.
Sabrina Ionescu drilled a 3-pointer and Howard put down another easy-looking basket that gave the Liberty a 92-91 lead. Ionescu’s jumper near the corner forced Sky to time out at 2:01 on the clock. Laney managed her own shot for a five-point lead from time-out.
How the Liberty Won Game 1
Neither team had a double-digit lead at any point in the competition, a predictable scenario after the last three games the teams had played. The teams are two of the best at moving the ball offensively and it showed during a close battle.
Turnovers doomed the Sky in the second quarter and let them play from behind in the second half. New York put on an 11-0 run that was cut short by Kahleah Copper and scored 14 points from six Sky turnovers to go into the dressing room 48-45
Dolson hit a jumper and 3 points from the break and Betnijah Laney completed a four-point play for the 55-47 third minute lead. Copper ended the streak again with another drive-and-1 after an assist from Courtney Vandersloot.
Copper and Chicago continued to lead and Emma Meesseman hit the last basket of the quarter to give Sky a 74-73 lead with the last 10 minutes. It was the first lead since the second quarter.
The story goes on
Chicago had 10 turnovers and couldn’t keep up with the Liberty’s 3-point shoot. New York was 11 of 25 (44%) from beyond the arc powered by one probable and another unlikely source. Ionescu was 3 of 6 (8 of 12 overall) and Dolson, the center who won the title with Sky last season, hit 3 of 4 from long range.
Ionescu had 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists and two steals. Dolson had 13 with seven rebounds, three assists and a block. Howard had 22 points (9 of 17) with seven rebounds, three assists and a block.
What the Sky can do with series itself
Chicago had big contributions from its 2021 Finals MVP at Copper, who hit 21 on 7-of-14 shooting with eight rebounds. She fell and held her right knee midway through the third game, but shook off her trainers and returned to the game. Less than a minute later, she was hit hard.
Allie Quigley (18 points), Candace Parker (17 pence, 10 rebounds), Vandersloot (13 pence, 10 assists) and Azura Stevens (16 points off the bench) all rose. Quigley hit mid-range shots and made the highlight with a crucial block, but her 3-point shot was needed. The four-time 3-point contest champion was 2-of-7.
Meesseman’s bucket at the end of the third looked like it could shift momentum towards the sky. The 2019 Finals MVP needs to make a bigger footprint for Chicago to win Game 2. She scored four points in a 2-on-7 night and grabbed four rebounds with two blocks.
Sky vs. Liberty series schedule
Game 1: Freedom 98, Heaven 91
Game 2 (Saturday): New York at Chicago, noon ET on ESPN
Game 3 (possibly Tuesday): Chicago in New York, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Chicago Sky’s Candace Parker drives to the basket against New York Liberty’s Stefanie Dolson during the first half of Game 1 of the first round of the 2022 WNBA Playoffs at Wintrust Arena in Chicago on August 17, 2022. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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