Without Breanna Stewart in the fold on Saturday, the Liberty underwent a stern test of their rebounding and depth.
But even with the two-time MVP missing, they passed with flying colors to beat the Sky 81-67 in the second straight matchup between the two teams.
Sabrina Ionescu’s second-half surge led the way as she finished with 28 points and five assists while Ivana Dojkic’s 12-point effort off the bench helped make up for Stewart’s absence, along with Leonie Fiebicvh’s 13 points and six rebounds.
The combination of Fiebich and Jonquel Jones (nine rebounds) served to limit Chicago’s twin towers of Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso in the paint enough for the Liberty to get by in this survive-and-advance match.
Reese, who took a record 15-game double-double streak into Saturday, finished two points short of extending it and was T’d up in the fourth quarter thanks to her reaction to a fifth personal foul.
Just a couple days after it took the Liberty until late in the game to pull away from Chicago in Brooklyn, a 15-0 run into halftime helped the Liberty put their foot down earlier on.
After a slow start for Ionescu, she got going late in the second quarter to help spark a run that left Chicago in the dust, assisting a Dojkic three and a Jones layup while hitting a pair of free throws to finish the half.
Suddenly, the Liberty — who had not led since it was 3-2 — were up by nine heading into the half, and their best player was cooking.
A brief scare came when Marina Mabrey hit a pair of 3-pointers to bring the Sky within seven going into the fourth quarter.
But the Liberty would keep them at arm’s length for the entirety of the fourth, as Chicago never re-established its early edge down low and couldn’t put together a run.
Consecutive buckets from Chennedy Carter got the Sky within eight with 3:27 to go.
But a free throw-line jumper from Ionescu followed by Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon taking a technical foul got the lead back to double digits with 90 seconds to go — more than enough to hang on.
A deep 3-pointer from Ionescu proved to be the dagger.
Aside from moving to 20-4 on the season, though, the best news of the day for the Liberty was that Stewart’s injury does not appear to be a long-term concern.
“Stewie probably could have went today but it’s the smartest thing to give her a rest,” coach Sandy Brondello said before the matchup against the Sky. “Just taking time where we can. It’s a big game for us but we still have to think big picture, be smart about our players’ health as much as we can.”
That is, at the least, a positive sign for the Liberty, who will go into the Olympic break after Tuesday’s home game against the Connecticut Sun.
Stewart, along with Ionescu, will then head to Paris to represent Team USA.
Brondello cast the decision to sit the superstar forward, whose 19.3 points per game lead the Liberty, more in terms of load management than any cause for concern.
“We’ve been three in four. Just a little injury. Give her the rest today. She’ll hopefully play next game.”
The Liberty gave Kennedy Burke her first start of the season in Stewart’s place, going with the 27-year-old instead of Kayla Thornton, who came off the bench.
The condensed schedule — a product of the monthlong Olympic break — has been a challenge for the Liberty to navigate, along with the rest of the league. In addition to Stewart, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton missed a third straight game on Saturday with a right knee injury.