By Paige Zimmerman

The Chicago Sky hit the road to face the New York Liberty for the third time this season at Barclays Center on Thursday, August 21 at 6 p.m. CT.

Chicago is 0-2 against New York this year. Their first meeting was on May 22 in the Sky’s home opener, when the Sky fell 74-99. Rachel Banham led Chicago off the bench with 15 points and an assist, while Kennedy Burke paced the Liberty with 17 points, three steals, two assists and a block. Burke went a perfect 4 for 4 from beyond the arc, contributing to New York’s blistering 55.9% team shooting from three (19 of 34). The Liberty’s 19 threes made are their all-time franchise record.

The teams met again on June 10, with New York earning an 85-66 win. Sabrina Ionescu led all scorers with 23 points, seven assists, and four steals. Angel Reese recorded a double-double for the Sky, finishing with 17 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Liberty enter Thursday at 22-13, tied with Atlanta and trailing only Minnesota (28-6) in the standings. The defending champions have been without two-time MVP Breanna Stewart (2018, 2023) due to a knee injury. Before her injury, Stewart averaged 18.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game, and New York has gone 5-6 in her absence. Ionescu continues to lead the team, averaging 19.1 points, 5.4 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

With Angel Reese returning from injury in Chicago’s matchup against Seattle on Tuesday, the Sky will look to dominate the glass and defend second-chance opportunities. The Liberty rank last in second-chance points with just 8.6 per game, while Chicago is fifth in defensive rebounds (25.9 per game). Reese, who leads the league in rebounding (12.3 rebounds per game), contributes 8.5 defensive boards herself.

Three-point shooting will be another deciding factor. Banham leads the league in percentage of points scored from three, with 66.5% of her scoring coming from beyond the arc. She averages 2.1 threes per game on 37.5% shooting. New York, meanwhile, ranks near the top of the league with 9.9 threes per game, led by Jonquel Jones and Leonie Fiebich, who rank among the league’s top four in 3-point percentage at 46.2% and 44.4%, respectively.