NY Liberty Coach Sends Clear Message to Angel Reese’s Teammate on Sunday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Dean Koutouratsas | Last updated Jun 8, 2025 4:17 PM ET

The New York Liberty won their eighth straight game by defeating the Washington Mystics, 86-78, on Thursday.

Forward Breanna Stewart scored 26 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to end with a double-double, and guard Sabrina Ionescu scored 13. Meanwhile, the Chicago Sky lost their fifth game of the year, 79-52, to the Indiana Fever on Saturday.

Forward Angel Reese only scored four points but grabbed 12 rebounds through 27 minutes of playing time. Furthermore, guard Courtney Vandersloot went down with a rough knee injury after crashing onto the hardwood to make the loss worse.

Two Sky training staff members carried her to the locker room, and she could be out of their next game against her former team, the Liberty, on Tuesday.

Vandersloot is listed as day-to-day. Following the injury, New York’s head coach, Sandy Brondello, sent a message to wish her former player the best.

“We’re more thinking of her and hopefully she’s okay,” the 56-year-old said.

Sandy Brondello shared recovery wishes to Courtney Vandersloot, who suffered an injury yesterday. “We're just more thinking of her, and hopefully she's okay.” The team is waiting to see if she’ll travel to NY for Tuesday’s game vs Chicago. “We'd like to celebrate her.” @Winsidr
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) June 8, 2025

The upcoming game is supposed to be a big night for Vandersloot after she helped the Liberty win a championship in 2024 and will return to New York following her move to Chicago. The 36-year-old averaged 5.3 points and 2.5 assists per game during last year's playoff run as a backup.

“We’d like to celebrate her,” Brondello added on the veteran guard’s return to New York.

Tuesday’s game between the Sky and Liberty inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn will be broadcast at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: