Liberty try to slow down red hot Sky

The home cooking wasn’t so nice this time. The New York Liberty came home following their five game road trip to take on the Chicago Sky. Chicago took control of the game and came away with a 20 point win.

The Sky will be in New York one more night before getting back on the road.

Where to follow the game

YES Network has us covered. Tip off after 7 PM.

Injuries

Natasha Howard and Jocelyn Willoughby are out.

Astou Ndour is out.

The game

On Tuesday, we briefly mentioned the Team USA roster being announced and noted no players on either team was selected. Surprisingly, Nneka Ogwumike of the Los Angeles Sparks was not selected and her former teammate, Candace Parker, had thoughts...

CP3 is right. Team politics play a huge role on Olympic squads and it looks like Ogwumike and Parker were victims of it. That’s a damn shame.

In the meantime, CP3 will keep on keeping on. The Sky have yet to lose a game she’s appeared in this season and put on a show Tuesday at Barclays with a 23/12/6 line in 23 minutes of game time. She started off a bit slowly, but went on to make seven out of her last eight shot attempts, including three three pointers. She’s been a league average three point shooter throughout her career and like almost everyone else in pro basketball, is taking a few more threes these days.

Speaking of three pointers, when the threes aren’t falling for Walt Hopkins’ squad, things become a million times more difficult. They went 6-28 from deep on Tuesday and when they’re cold, they’re gonna struggle. That’s where Betnijah Laney will have to carry things for the Liberty. She missed both of her three point attempts but otherwise led the team with 18 points on Tuesday.

In off the court news, Diamond DeShields is stepping up for the good folks of Chicago’s South Side. She is leading a drive to get free eye exams for the community and had this to say:

“You see a need and you try to fill it. The South Side is a space in need. I live down here, this is my community. I can’t live here and not do something to positively impact the lives around me.”

Shouts to everyone doing right by their folks and stepping up.

Player to watch: Courtney Vandersloot

It’s always a blessing when your point guard is an excellent distributor. Vandersloot once again leads the W in assists and will likely win her fifth straight assist title and sixth overall. Guards like her always get their teammates fantastic scoring opportunities and keep the offense humming along. She’s turning the ball over a bit more this year, but with the roster turnover it will take some time for everyone to be in complete sync with one another.

Sabrina Ionescu has seen her minutes increase in each game she’s been back from the ankle injury. She played 27 minutes and handed out seven assists to only one turnover while she was on the court. The further away she is from her injury, the more she’ll start to look like herself and be the engine that jumpstarts the Liberty offense. The next step in her recovery will be when she finds her shot. She hasn’t shot over 40 percent from the field in a month and with a team that’s looking to sneak into the playoffs, they’re gonna need their franchise player to find her shot soon.

From the Vault

Today’s a special day as Beyonce’s “4” turns 10 years old. Let’s jam

More reading: Swish Appeal

• New York Liberty Game Notes - New York Liberty
• Chicago Sky Game Notes - Chicago Sky
• Sky meet Liberty again on six-game winning streak - STATS