Liberty beat the Sky 85-66 to become the 9th team in WNBA history to start a season 9-0

NEW YORK (AP) — Sabrina Ionescu had 23 points and seven assists, Breanna Stewart added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists, and the New York Liberty beat the Chicago Sky 85-66 on Tuesday night to become the ninth team in WNBA history to start a season 9-0.

New York, off to its best start in franchise history, scored the first 12 points of the game and cruised from there.

Kennedy Burke made a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner off a nice no-look pass by Ionescu with 1.4 seconds left in the first half to take a 52-32 lead. Ionescu had 14 points in the first half and Stewart added 13.

The Liberty ended the third quarter on an 11-0 run and scored the opening six points of the fourth for a 76-42 advantage.

Chicago had 22 turnovers and 28 field goals.

Burke finished with 15 points and three 3-pointers. Nyara Sabally made her first career start in place of Jonquel Jones, who did not play due to an ankle injury, and finished with nine points in 15 minutes.

Angel Reese led Chicago (2-6) with a season-high 17 points and 11 rebounds. Reese’s 30th career double-double came in her 42nd game — the fewest needed to reach the mark in WNBA history.

Chicago rookie guard Hailey Van Lith made her first WNBA 3-pointer with 1:09 left in the fourth.

The Sky announced Sunday that Courtney Vandersloot had an MRI that revealed a torn ACL. She spent the previous two seasons in New York and helped the Liberty win the WNBA title last year before returning to Chicago this season.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball