Liberty come back to beat Sky as Angel Reese extends streak - ESPN

NEW YORK — Guard Sabrina Ionescu and the New York Liberty overcame a slow start and 14-point deficit to handily beat the visiting Chicago Sky 91-76 on Thursday night at Barclays Center.

The Liberty — who are 2-1 against the Sky this season — join 13 other teams across WNBA history in winning 19 of their first 23 games of a season. Twelve of those teams made the WNBA Finals that year, and 10 won the championship.

«This is a veteran team, an experienced team,» Liberty coach Sandy Brondello said. «They can lock in. We've got great leadership. There's a commitment to excellence. Even if you struggled one quarter, they're always encouraging each other, 'Come on, let's do it. Let's be better.'»

Ionescu missed her first seven shots of the game and was 1-for-8 from the floor at halftime before finishing with a team-best 21 points behind 6-for-9 shooting (4-for-6 from 3) in the second half.

«Kind of hung my head at halftime and then came back to start that third with an understanding, 'I need to go out there and get the ball in the basket for this team to win,'» Ionescu said. «Just thankful that I had that opportunity to go out there and get good looks.»

«Sometimes when shooters like that get a rhythm, it doesn't matter who's there,» Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon added. «They feel like they can make whatever shot they take.»

The 2020 No. 1 pick is averaging a career-best 19 points and 6 assists per game this season.

«She's a pretty special player, isn't she?» Brondello said of Ionescu. «I know Sabrina had a pretty untypical start to the game, but you never can keep her down for more than 20 minutes, and she showed that in the second half.»

The Sky were paced by Chennedy Carter (22 points, 14 in the first half), while rookie Angel