August 24, 2022
Daily Briefing — Aug. 24, 2022: BLUE YORK — Liberty eliminated in Game 3
By Emily Adler
Sky advance to semifinals
Happy hump day! Welcome to The Next’s Daily Briefing, featuring the W Roundup, daily Watch List and Yesterday’s Recap. Day six of the WNBA postseason is here, following New York’s “hot and cold” approach, picking the wrong night to be cold. The Sky and the Liberty opened their winner-take-all Game 3 with offensive exchanges, before New York went icy from three and couldn’t make anything work in the halfcourt, while Chicago kept defensive pressure on all night. Nonetheless, it was still an exciting one. With another Game 3 on deck tonight, the revamped playoff format seems to be a success.
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But first, read:
- Our Jenn Hatfield reviewed Natasha Cloud’s excellent playoff series and the road ahead for the Mystics
- Our Caylen Johnson dove into the numbers and narratives around the WNBA’s record numbers of attendees and viewers in 2022
- Our Scott Mammoser looked at USA Basketball’s training camp roster
Watch List, Wednesday, Aug. 24
(All times in Eastern)
Connecticut @ Dallas, 9 p.m., ESPN
Tuesday, Aug. 23 recap
Chicago beat New York, 90-72, to win the series 2-1. The game was tied at 15 in the mid-first quarter, but the Sky led by 14 in the early third; the Liberty got within three points in the early fourth, to which Chicago responded with a 16-0 run. The teams combined to shoot 45.8% from the field and 30.6% from three, but the Sky won the rebounding battle by six and notched nine steals.
Point guard Courtney Vandersloot led Chicago with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting (2-5 3pt.) and 10 assists for a double-double, plus five rebounds and two steals — joining Maya Moore as just the second player with multiple 10/10/5/2 playoff games, per Across The Timeline; big Candace Parker recorded a near-triple-double with 14 points (6-14 FG, 0-4 3pt.), 13 rebounds and eight assists, plus two blocks — the first 14/13/8/2-block game in playoff history, per ATT; off-ball guard Allie Quigley had 15 points on 4-for-8 from three (1-2 from two), four rebounds and two steals against two turnovers. With wing Kahleah Copper, big Emma Meesseman and backup big Azurá Stevens each adding an efficient 12+ points, the Sky became the first-ever team to have six players record at least 12 points on 40% shooting each, per ATT.
New York was led by wing Betnijah Laney’s 15 points on 6-for-11 FG, five rebounds and two assists against two turnovers and four fouls in 30 minutes; big Natasha Howard notched a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double on 7-for-17 shooting (0-2 3pt.) against two turnovers; combo guard Sabrina Ionescu had 14 points on 6-for-15 form the field and 2-for-7 from three, six rebounds and four assists against five turnovers.
Written by Emily Adler
Emily Adler (she/her) covers the WNBA at large and college basketball for The Next, with a focus on player development and the game behind the game.
