Liberty not content with 8-0 record as Sky visit
June 9 - New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu is not taking her team's best start in franchise history for granted.
Ionescu, Breanna Stewart and the Liberty (8-0) will aim to keep rolling along on Tuesday when they host the Chicago Sky (2-5).
"Obviously, 8-0 is great, but that's not what our goal is," Ionescu said. "(We're) going to take every single game and take it one by one and continue to try to get better."
Stewart collected 26 points and 11 rebounds in the Liberty's 86-78 victory over the Washington Mystics on Thursday.
The two-time WNBA MVP averages a team-high 19.1 points while Ionescu adds 17.3 points per game.
All is not rosy for the Liberty, however, as star center Jonquel Jones sustained a right ankle injury on a layup in the first quarter against the Mystics. She did not return to the game.
"Let's hope that it's not too bad that it'll keep her out," New York coach Sandy Brondello said after the game of Jones, the MVP of the 2024 WNBA Finals.
The New York Post reported Sunday that Jones had not been ruled out for Tuesday's game.
Jones contributes 13.9 points and a team-best 10.3 rebounds per game this season while shooting 42.9 percent from 3-point range.
The Liberty could turn to Nyara Sabally should Jones be unable to play on Tuesday. Per Brondello, Sabally is poised to return to action following a six-game absence due to a right knee injury.
Natasha Cloud scored 18 points, Ionescu had 16 and Stewart contributed 12 as the Liberty cruised to a 99-74 victory over the Sky on May 22 in Chicago.
Courtney Vandersloot scored 14 points in that game. She was slated to receive a nice welcome Tuesday because she started at point guard for last year's WNBA champs, but the Sky star sustained a torn ACL Saturday in the team's 79-52 setback to the Indiana Fever. She will miss the remainder of the season.
"It's heartbreaking. It's heartbreaking to watch anybody, but especially one of our teammates and someone that means as much as Sloot does to this team and organization," Hailey Van Lith said of Vandersloot, who averages 10.6 points and a team-high 5.3 assists.
"Whatever is in store in the future for this team, I trust we will find a way to make this moment mean something in the end."
Ariel Atkins averages a team-best 13.7 points per game for Chicago, while Angel Reese contributes a WNBA-high 12.3 rebounds per contest.
--Field Level Media
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