Led by Natasha Cloud with four 3-pointers and 18 points, the defending champion New York Liberty broke the WNBA regular-season record by making 19 3s in a 99-74 victory over the Chicago Sky on Thursday night.
Eight of nine Liberty players who attempted a 3-pointer made at least one from deep as they finished 19 for 34 (56%). The previous team and WNBA highs were 18 3-pointers in a regular-season game. The Las Vegas Aces made 23 3s in a playoff game in 2022.
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WATCH HERECloud made 4 of 5 from deep and had eight assists. Kennedy Burke had 17 points off the bench, going 4 of 4 on 3s. Sabrina Ionescu scored 16 points, Breanna Stewart 12 and Jonquel Jones 11 for New York (2-0).
New York shot 55% overall and made 16 of 17 free throws.
Chicago’s Angel Reese was 0-for-8 shooting and scored two points. It was the first time since 2021 that she failed to make at least one basket, ending a streak of 136 games, college and pro. She went 0 of 6 for Maryland in a 2021 Sweet 16 loss to Texas.
Reese had 12 rebounds, eight on offense, and five of Chicago’s 23 turnovers.
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The Liberty led 28-23 after one quarter and 36-30 in the second period before closing the half on a 17-2 run.
Chicago (0-2) scored the first eight points of the third quarter but was never closer than that 13-point deficit. Cloud scored eight points in New York's 13-4 run in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter for an 88-58 lead.
Rachel Banham led Chicago with 15 points. Fourteen-year veteran Courtney Vandersloot, who played for New York last season when the Liberty won their first WNBA championship, scored 14 for the Sky.
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New York plays at Indiana on Saturday and Chicago visits Los Angeles on Sunday.
