Angel Reese Gets Double-Double as Van Lith, Sky Lose to Breanna Stewart, Liberty

Angel Reese posted a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double, but the undefeated and defending WNBA champion New York Liberty crushed the visiting Chicago Sky 85-66 on Tuesday evening.

This was all Liberty from the opening tip. New York opened the game on a 12-0 run and never looked back, leading 26-15 after the first quarter, 52-32 at halftime and 70-42 entering the fourth.

New York led by as many as 34 points. Chicago also committed 22 turnovers to the Liberty's nine.

Sabrina Ionescu starred for New York on both ends, amassing 23 points, seven assists, four steals and two blocks. Breanna Stewart added 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

Reese was Chicago's top performer and shot 8-of-13 from the field, including a three-pointer. She has now posted four double-doubles in eight games this season.

This was also her best shooting performance of the year after starting the season in an offensive slump (30.9 percent field goal percentage over her first seven games).

It was ultimately an encouraging individual performance against one of the league's two remaining undefeated teams (now 9-0) alongside the Minnesota Lynx.

Elsewhere in the box score, Ariel Atkins was the only other Sky player who posted 10 or more points, scoring 11 while adding three steals.

Off the bench, rookie Hailey Van Lith had an off-night, shooting 1-for-5. However, she did hit her first three-pointer of her WNBA career late in the game and also added a pair of free throws for five total points. Van Lith is ultimately still learning life as a pro on the fly, an effort that was curtailed earlier this season after she missed a couple games with an ankle injury.

Ultimately, this was another brutal loss for the Sky, who have now lost five of six games by 13 or more points.

And now the team is without veteran Courtney Vandersloot for the remainder of the season after the 5-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion suffered a torn ACL in her right knee last Saturday against the Indiana Fever.

With the loss, Chicago dropped to 2-6 on the year. The Sky will now face the Atlanta Dream on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.