New York Liberty at Chicago Sky
· First Round - Game 1Liberty score final 13 points, beat Sky in playoff opener
New York scored the final 13 points of the fourth quarter as Chicago missed 10 of its last 11 shots. Ionescu made a 3-pointer and a jumper from the free-throw line during the run, and Marine Johannes highlighted the spurt with an over-the-shoulder pass to Howard.
“We've been in this situation all year and early on we were losing these games,” Ionescu said. "But we found out what it takes to win and we showed that tonight. We gotta do it again."
New York, which won its first playoff game since Sept. 23, 2015, will play Game 2 of the best-of-three series at Chicago on Saturday.
Betnijah Laney added 17 points and Stefanie Dolson scored 13 points for New York, which set a franchise scoring record in the playoffs. Dolson, a center, made 3 of 4 3-pointers to help the Liberty go 11 for 25 from distance.
Kahleah Copper led the second-seeded Sky with 21 points. Allie Quigley scored 18 points, Candace Parker had 17 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, and Courtney Vandersloot added 13 points and 10 assists.
Chicago took its first lead of the second half, 74-73, with a second left in the third quarter on Emma Meesseman's layup. Quigley sank a 3-pointer while being fouled and she made the free throw to give Chicago an 85-81 lead, and Parker added a putback on the Sky's next possession for a six-point lead with 6:36 left.
Regular Season Series
CHI wins series 3-1
Recent Plays
| 4th 0.0 |  |
End of Game | 98 - 91 |
| 4th 0.0 | |
End of the 4th Quarter | 98 - 91 |
| 4th 14.5 |  |
Sabrina Ionescu defensive rebound | 98 - 91 |
| 4th 17.0 |  |
Kahleah Copper misses free throw 2 of 2 | 98 - 91 |
| 4th 17.0 | |
Rebekah Gardner enters the game for Allie Quigley | 98 - 91 |
Statistics
 NY |
 CHI |
|
|---|---|---|
| 37-75 | FG | 34-72 |
| 49 | Field Goal % | 47 |
| 11-25 | 3PT | 7-25 |
| 44 | Three Point % | 28 |
| 13-14 | FT | 16-22 |
| 93 | Free Throw % | 73 |
| 34 | Rebounds | 37 |
| 6 | Offensive Rebounds | 8 |
| 28 | Defensive Rebounds | 29 |
| 28 | Assists | 21 |
| 8 | Steals | 4 |
| 3 | Blocks | 6 |
| 8 | Turnovers | 10 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 8 | Total Turnovers | 10 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 1 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 10 | Points Conceded Off Turnovers | 14 |
| 11 | Fast Break Points | 17 |
| 40 | Points in Paint | 50 |
| 18 | Fouls | 12 |
| 9 | Largest Lead | 9 |
Game Information
Location: Chicago, IL
Attendance: 7,524 · Capacity:
2025-26 Eastern Conference Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Indiana |
- | 9 | W2 | 0.6086956 | 14 |
 Atlanta |
0.5 | 10 | W1 | 0.5833333 | 14 |
 New York |
1.5 | 11 | L3 | 0.5416667 | 13 |
 Washington |
2 | 10 | W1 | 0.52380955 | 11 |
 Toronto |
4 | 13 | W1 | 0.4347826 | 10 |
 Chicago |
7 | 16 | L2 | 0.3043478 | 7 |
 Connecticut |
9 | 18 | L2 | 0.2173913 | 5 |
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