Marina Mabrey, Angel Reese help Chicago Sky beat New York Liberty 90-81
Marina Mabrey had 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds to help the Chicago Sky beat the New York Liberty 90-81 on Thursday night.
Angel Reese added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Sky (2-1), who got a win for first-year head coach Teresa Weatherspoon in her return to New York. Weatherspoon starred as a player for the Liberty in the WNBA's early days. She helped New York reach the finals in three of the league's first four years.
She was greeted with a loud ovation when she was introduced pregame. The Liberty played a tribute to her at the end of the first quarter.
New York (4-1) led 68-67 early in the fourth quarter before Mabrey and Reese spurred a 19-7 run to give Chicago an 86-75 lead. Reese then had a three-point play with 2:18 left that put the game away.
Sabrina Ionescu scored 19 points while Breanna Stewart added 18 points and 10 rebounds for New York, which was off to its best start since the 2007 season.
Stewart missed all four of her shot attempts in the first half while Jonquel Jones was saddled with foul trouble. The Sky were able to build a 40-32 halftime lead behind strong play from Mabrey, who had 12 points.
New York trailed by double digits in the third quarter before Stewart rallied them to take the brief lead.
Chicago was missing Isabelle Harrison (knee), Diamond DeShields (foot) and Kamilla Cardoso (shoulder). Weatherspoon said she expected to have DeShields and Cardoso back soon.
Sky: Play their first home game of the season on Saturday when they host Connecticut.
Liberty: Travel to Minnesota to play the Lynx on Saturday.
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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball