Chicago City Wire

The Chicago Sky will begin their 2025 home season against the New York Liberty on Thursday, May 22, at 7 p.m. Both teams have played one game this season, with Chicago starting their campaign on the road against Indiana.

The Liberty claimed the 2024 WNBA Championship with former Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot playing a key role in securing the team's first title. Vandersloot returned to Chicago in the offseason, marking this game as her first encounter with New York since rejoining the Sky.

In their season opener, the Sky were defeated by the Fever with a score of 58-93. The starting lineup for Chicago included Vandersloot, Ariel Atkins, Kia Nurse, Angel Reese, and Kamilla Cardoso. The game also saw debut performances from Atkins, Nurse, Rebecca Allen, Hailey Van Lith, and Maddy Westbeld.

With Moriah Jefferson sidelined due to a leg injury, Chicago will have 11 players available for the matchup against New York.

Last season, the Sky averaged only 14.9 three-point attempts per game but increased that number to 27 in their opening match this year. Despite converting just 22.2% of those shots in their first game, Chicago aims to focus more on three-point shooting this season. Their primary shooters boast a combined career three-point rate of 34.7%, compared to last year's league average of 33.8%.

In contrast, New York began their season by defeating the Las Vegas Aces at home with a score of 92-78. Jonquel Jones contributed significantly with 17 points, ten rebounds and six assists while Breanna Stewart added another impressive performance scoring 25 points and eight rebounds. The upcoming face-off between Reese and Cardoso from Chicago against Stewart and Jones offers an exciting matchup against two renowned post players.

Natasha Cloud joined New York as an offseason addition at point guard and performed well in her debut match scoring 22 points along with six rebounds and nine assists.

During last year's encounters between these teams throughout four games played together during that time frame alone managed only one victory over them winning once out of four tries overall ultimately resulting overall record being left standing at mere total count reading simply "1-3."