Sky Fall Short in Final Seconds to Liberty, 96-95
WNBA Chicago Sky

Sky Fall Short in Final Seconds to Liberty, 96-95

Published on June 17, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


The Chicago Sky fell to the New York Liberty 96-95 in Wintrust Arena on Wednesday, June 17. The Sky are now 4-10 on the season, 1-6 against the Eastern Conference, 1-6 at home, 1-5 in Commissioner's Cup play and 36-39 against the Liberty all time.

Tonight's game was a hard-fought battle with 15 lead changes and 11 ties throughout. The Sky got off to an early start, leading 32-27 in the first quarter.

Despite the loss, rookie Sydney Taylor continued her historic rookie season. She made her first career start and delivered 24 points, three steals and two assists. Taylor played a career-high 28 minutes shooting 10 for 16 from the field. In the last two games, Taylor is averaging 27 points per game while shooting 66.7% from the field.

Taylor capped off her stellar night with a three-pointer to give the Sky a one-point lead with just 15.6 seconds left in regulation. The Sky ultimately fell after a last-minute bucket from New York.

Rookie Gabriela Jaquez had a season-best outing in tonight's game, totaling a career-high 22 points and knocking down 63.6% (7 of 11) of her shots from the field. Jaquez and Taylor are the first pair of Sky rookies in history to each score over 20 points apiece in a game.

Skylar Diggins continued her All-Star-worthy campaign, going for 19 points, a team-leading eight assists and two rebounds. She hit a pair of three-pointers in the first quarter that helped propel the team to their early 15-point lead.

Five-time All-Star and 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones led the Liberty in scoring, tallying 19 points with eight rebounds, three assists and a block. Two-time MVP Breanna Stewart contributed heavily to both sides of the court, yielding 17 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.

Other highlights include:

Sydney Taylor earned her first career start

Gabriela Jaquez notched 100 career points

Skylar Diggins reached 1,000 career rebounds

Elizabeth Williams recorded 500 career blocks

Williams is the 11th player in WNBA history to reach 500 career blocks and is six away from passing Ruth Riley for 10th on the all-time list

Jaquez is the second-fastest Sky player to reach 100+ points and 10+ three-pointers in their career

Jaquez and Taylor are the first pair of Sky rookies to each score 20+ points in a game

Taylor is the second in the WNBA for rookies in 20-point games this season

NEXT UP: The Sky travel to Dallas to face the Wings on Saturday, June 20, inside College Park Center. This matchup marks the second meeting between the two teams this season. Chicago is 31-27 against the Wings all-time and trails 0-1 in the series this season.

In their most recent meeting on May 20, the Sky fell to the Wings 99-89. Center Kamilla Cardoso marked her first double-double of the regular season (24 points, 11 rebounds) and veteran Natasha Cloud registered 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists.

For the Wings, 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers tallied 24 points and shot 57.9% from the field in that outing. Four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale followed with 23 points, five assists and two rebounds.

Dallas is coming off an impressive 30-point victory against reigning MVP A'ja Wilson and the Las Vegas Aces Monday night. The Wings are now 9-5 ahead of their matchup against the Valkyries on Wednesday.

Bueckers leads the Wings in scoring entering Wednesday, averaging 19 points a game and shooting 51.4% from the field. Veteran Jessica Shepard is the second-leading scorer, totaling 13.7 points and 11.6 rebounds thus far.

The game between Chicago and Dallas tips off at 7 p.m. inside College Park Center on Saturday, June 20 and will be broadcast on CBS.

ALL-STAR WATCH

Skylar Diggins recorded her eighth 15+ point performance on the season. She's averaging 15.3 in 29.9 minutes of action which leads the Sky

Diggins notched her fifth game of the season with five or more assists, averaging 4.3 assists

Kamilla Cardoso scored her 10th double-digit game of the season after tonight's performance. Cardosos is averaging 12.0 points per game

After tonight's matchup, Cardoso recorded her fifth game of the season tallying at least one steal

Cardoso had four assists in tonight's game

KEY RUNS:

The Sky went on a 24-9 run from 8:37 to 4:18 in the first quarter

The Sky outscored the Liberty 32-27 in the first quarter

The Liberty went on a 22-8 run from 3:58 in the first quarter to 6:04 in the second quarter

The Sky outscored the Liberty 27-22 in the fourth quarter

KEY STATS:

The Sky hit a single-game season-high 12 three-pointers against the Liberty

The Liberty's bench outscored the Sky's 38-14

The Sky's biggest lead was 15 points

Both teams combined for 25 turnovers

New York shot 50.0% from the field (33 for 66)

Chicago shot 52.2% from deep (12 for 23)

The Sky scored 12 fast break points to the Liberty's eight

There were 15 lead changes and 11 ties

Both teams combined for 59 points in the first quarter

Four different players had at least two assists in the first quarter for the Sky

Chicago notched six steals in the first half

New York held Chicago to 13 points in the second quarter

Chicago's starting unit tallied 81 of the team's 95 total points

CHICAGO NOTES:

Sydney Taylor accounted for 13 of the Sky's 32 points in the first quarter (eight points, five points created from assists)

Taylor accounted for five of Chicago's 13 points in the second quarter

Skylar Diggins accounted for 12 of Chicago's 32 points in the first quarter (eight points, four points created from assists)

Diggins accounted for 11 of the Sky's 23 points in the third quarter (four points, seven points created from assists)

Gabriela Jaquez accounted for seven of the Sky's 13 points in the second quarter (four points, three points created from assists)

Kamilla Cardoso accounted for nine of the Sky's 27 points in the fourth quarter (six points, three points created from assists)

NEW YORK NOTES:

Leonie Fiebich accounted for five of the Liberty's 20 points in the second quarter (two points, three points created from assists)

Satou Sabally accounted for nine of New York's 20 points in the second quarter (four points, five points created from assists)

Breanna Stewart accounted for eight of the Liberty's 27 points in the third quarter (two points, six points created from assists)

Jonquel Jones accounted for 11 of the New York's 22 points in the fourth quarter (nine points, two points created from assists)

Check out the Chicago Sky Statistics

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 17, 2026


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