The Chicago Sky Locker Room Celebration after handing the New York Liberty their first loss!!

How Angel Reese, Sky upset Liberty in Teresa Weatherspoon’s homecoming: 3 takeaways

NEW YORK — As Chicago Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon paced the sideline during Thursday night’s matchup against the New York Liberty, evidence of her own history was just feet away from her. At mid-court, Weatherspoon’s name is stamped onto the Barclays Center hardwood, signifying her as one of seven members in the Liberty’s Ring of Honor. Named to the WNBA’s 15th and 20th anniversary teams, she guided New York to four WNBA Finals appearances, which had been the franchise’s most recent before last season.

It was fitting and unsurprising that midway through the first quarter the Liberty honored Weatherspoon with a video tribute, complete with highlights from her playing days. Weatherspoon, who is in her first season as Chicago’s head coach, placed her hands together and nodded her head to acknowledge the crowd. She raised her right hand. “Thank you,” she repeated.

“These people loved me,” she said Thursday morning. “They gave me all of them, so I tried to give them all of me. It’s been that way since I played here, even with me being away.”

The admiration was genuine. In the second quarter, when Sky assistant Crystal Robinson, who is also in New York’s Ring of Honor, was featured in a similar tribute, fans again showed their respect. “She gave everything she had, too,” Weatherspoon said. “We’re Liberty for life, bro. Enough said.”

There was also a basketball game on Thursday. And there was little else for the home crowd to cheer about. The Liberty looked far from their best.

Perhaps motivated by Weatherspoon’s return to New York, the Sky delivered the Liberty’s first loss of the season with a 90-81 upset. Chicago guard Marina Mabrey scored a game-high 21 points, adding 7 assists and 6 rebounds. She was one of five Chicago players who scored in double figures.

“It’s just special. (Weatherspoon’s) special,” Sky guard Dana Evans said. “She just breathes confidence in each and every one of us. We love her.”

Here’s what we learned from Thursday night’s game.

How Reese made up for offensive struggles

Angel Reese’s first game in New York City came during her freshman year of high school in a showcase at Christ the King High in Queens. She faced her current teammate Kamilla Cardoso. Reese said it marked the first time she recorded 20 points and 20 rebounds in a contest. “I’ve had a great feeling here. New York has always been great to me,” she said. “I just love being here. It’s close to home.”

The Baltimore native said many family members attended Thursday’s game. At times, however, Reese struggled to score over New York’s bigs. She missed all five of her first-half attempts and picked up a third foul midway through the third quarter, which sent her to the bench for the remainder of the period. Nevertheless, Reese finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds.

Nothing was easy for her (she shot only 3 of 10), but she still found ways to contribute. She was active on defense, drawing praise from Evans for her effort slowing reigning MVP Breanna Stewart. Reese made 7 of 9 free throws and scored two timely baskets (one just inside the four-minute mark of regulation and another with 2:18 remaining) to help seal Chicago’s victory.

Most of Reese’s offensive production this season has come around the rim, which was true against the Liberty, too. Entering Thursday, 20 of her 22 shot attempts had been at the basket, according to Synergy Sports, but she had made only seven of those attempts. Yet her impact has been palpable for Chicago, which is in a transition year. She hauled in 17 rebounds in her first two games, with her energy and effort impressing Weatherspoon.

“It’s a knack,” Weatherspoon said. “You just know where to be, how to be, and you’re hungry for a rebound. She’s just relentless. She does a relentless pursuit for the ball and that’s who she is, that’s what she’s about.”

Reese references Clark in tweet

Reese also appeared to respond to recent comments made by Turner Sports’ Charles Barkley, in which Barkley told WNBA players to stop being “petty” and to thank Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark for getting the league private charters as well as additional money and visibility.

Reese posted on social media: “and that’s on getting a WIN in a packed arena not just cause of one player on our charter flight.” The post has been deleted from Reese’s account on X.

The WNBA announced recently it would start using charter flights regularly for players starting this week.

After shootaround on Friday, Reese spoke about the increase in WNBA popularity this season, also pushing back on the idea that it’s solely driven by Clark. “It’s not just one person, I think people don’t realize that (because) the narrative out there is that just one person changing the game,” Reese said. “It’s a lot of us — me, Kamilla (Cardoso), there’s Cameron (Brink), Rickea (Jackson). There’s so many great players and it’s been long overdue and just being able to see that our impact has been able to change the game. I love it for us all and we’re just going to continue to keep going.”

Ionescu shines even as New York’s offense faltered

The Liberty’s offense struggled in the first half, shooting 34.3 percent. Star center Jonquel Jones picked up two fouls only three minutes in and missed her two shot attempts of the half. Stewart missed all four of her first-half attempts. Still, one of the bright first-half offensive spots was Sabrina Ionescu. She has played aggressively so far this season. With 1:33 to go in the first quarter, she drove by Mabrey, scoring two of her 10 first-half points (contributing toward her team-high 19). That kind of basket has become more routine for Ionescu this year.

Last season, she attempted 91 shots at the rim, connecting on only 51.6 percent, according to Synergy Sports. But she’s attempted layups more frequently this season and done so with more efficiency. Entering Thursday’s game, she had shot 63.6 percent on 11 layup attempts through four games.

Not only does her driving ability open up scoring opportunities for herself, but also it helps free up teammates. Near the end of the first quarter, an Ionescu drive collapsed the Sky’s defense. Electing not to shoot, she found reserve guard Ivana Dojkić open on the perimeter for a 3-pointer.

New York didn’t see enough of this action, however. Though Stewart came alive in the second half, scoring 15 points, New York’s five fourth-quarter turnovers made a comeback difficult. Seven free throw misses didn’t help, either.

Chicago gets a ‘confidence-builder’

Weatherspoon said pre-game that this contest would “definitely tell you where (we) are.” Forty minutes later, the Sky have to feel better about their future. Both Weatherspoon and Mabrey described the victory as a “confidence-builder.”

“We expect ourselves to walk out, play hard on the defensive side of the ball. We’re a team of defensive stops and offensive runs. And they bought into that,” Weatherspoon said. “It builds a lot of confidence playing against a team like New York. … It was good to see our team as resilient as we were here in this hostile environment.”

Mabrey made all five of her 2-point attempts. She and Evans got downhill against New York’s defense, which had been among the league’s best this season. The win was even more significant as Chicago was playing without three key contributors (Cardoso, Diamond DeShields and Isabelle Harrison). “We trust one another and we trust our staff,” Evans said. “And we lean on each other.”

Chicago has made the past five postseasons, but many predicted this year could be a down-turn. Of course, beating New York counts as just a single victory, but it does give the Sky (2-1) a boost as they prepare for their home opener on Saturday against the Connecticut Sun.

(Photo: Evan Yu / Getty Images)