By Graham Barker
School of the New York Times

The Chicago Sky saw double-digit scoring performances from five players Thursday night and blew out the New York Liberty, 91-68, in Brooklyn for a seventh straight victory.

This was the second meeting in three nights between the teams, the Sky winning big on Tuesday, and the problems for the Liberty that night carried over to Thursday, especially the turnovers and poor three-point shooting.

Playing most of the game without Sabrina Ionescu, their rising second-year star, the Liberty shot 4 of 25 from deep, and even reliable shooters Sami Whitcomb and Michaela Onyenwere struggled, converting just 3 of 14 on 3s combined. Both Whitcomb and Coach Walt Hopkins said that they got the open shots they wanted–they just didn’t fall.

As for the turnovers, New York committed 21, outdoing Tuesday’s previous-high of 16. Chicago took advantage of these issues with a well-rounded scoring attack. Diamond DeShields and Kahleah Copper led the Sky with 18 each on efficient shooting, while Candace Parker had 12 points and 11 rebounds for her 37th career double-double.

The Sky shared the ball well, assisting on 25 of their 37 baskets, and converted 47 percent of their 3-point attempts. New York’s defense has statistically been near the bottom of the WNBA throughout the season, and Thursday night was another example of why. Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, and DeShields all had no problem navigating the lane.

Ionescu was limited to 13 minutes off the bench in her third game back after minor ankle surgery and dished out five assists. Without her creativity, Hopkins said the Liberty ended up “ad-libbing” for much of the game.

Kylee Shook, who was on the receiving end of several of Ionescu’s slick passes, said, “Every time Sabrina is in the game, I know she’s looking.” But with two games upcoming in Atlanta Saturday and Tuesday, Hopkins was unsure exactly how long it will be before Ionescu returns to full strength.

He is hoping the upcoming Olympic break will help. “That rest is going to be really, really good for her,” he said.

Both the defensive struggles and Ionescu’s injury have made for a rough stretch,  seven losses in nine games after a 5-1 start with a healthy lineup. But with Ionescu and forward Natasha Howard hurting, New York has fallen under .500. The Sky and Liberty sit third and fourth in the Eastern Conference standings and will each have some work to do if they want to make a run for the WNBA championship.