Liberty have no answers for ex-teammate Natasha Cloud’s monster night in loss to Sky

CHICAGO — Tuesday night was Natasha Cloud’s revenge game.

Cloud often plays with an edge.

But the Sky’s 93-86 win against the Liberty was different.

It seemed personal for Cloud.

The fierce style that’s been a trademark of Cloud’s career had been amplified. Cloud didn’t take plays off. She was a menace on defense, applying ample pressure whether the person she was guarding had the ball in their hands or not.

On offense, she caught fire against the team that dropped her in free agency and never let up.

Cloud scored a career-high 33 points on 13-for-21 shooting, including 4-for-8 from downtown. She also contributed seven rebounds and six assists to lead the Sky to their 14th win of the season and first against the Liberty.

The Liberty trailed by 11 at halftime and eight entering the fourth quarter.

Marine Johannes hit a go-ahead 3 with just over two minutes left in the game.

Cloud split a pair of free throws to tie the game at 84 apiece at the 1:50 mark.

On the next possession, Cloud pulled up from midrange to give the Sky a two-point advantage.

Then, she fed Kamilla Cardoso a bounce pass for a layup to make it a four-point game.

The Liberty, who lost Jonquel Jones in the first quarter with a left ankle injury, couldn’t muster up enough to steal this win. Sabrina Ionescu’s 3 bounced off the rim.

Cloud punctuated the Sky’s win by draining four free throws in the final minute with a wide grin across her face on her last trip to the line.

It was clear from the jump that Cloud was locked in.

In the second quarter, Cloud made back-to-back 3-pointers.

Then, another ex-Liberty player, Courtney Vandersloot, drained a shot from deep of her own to give the Sky a 41-32 lead with less than four minutes in the first half.

Coach Chris DeMarco called a timeout.

Vandersloot and Cloud celebrated near center court with a low-five and chest bump, while their former team headed to the bench to try to figure out a way to stop the bleeding.

The Liberty struggled to contain the Sky, who have the fifth-worst offensive rating in the league.

New York’s defense has been a concern all season. It’s been exacerbated by injuries to Leonie Fiebich and Satou Sabally.

The Sky scored 20 second-chance points to the Liberty’s six. Chicago also won the rebounding battle 44-35.

In each of the previous two meetings with the Liberty this season, rookie Sydney Taylor torched New York while Cloud struggled.

Cloud finished with 11 points in the June 17 meeting and nine July 22.

The Sky lost both those games by one point.

But Tuesday was different.

Taylor, playing in her first game since Aug. 3 after dealing with a groin injury, showed some expected rust. She scored nine points and shot 1-for-6 from deep.

Meanwhile, Cloud played her best game of the season against her former team.

The Liberty have three games left before the FIBA World Cup break.

“We just want to finish strong,” DeMarco said pregame about the team’s remaining August schedule. “The rest are at home. You got some practice days in between, so we try to be smart. But when we practice, how we’re going to approach having those few days off, so we’re ready to go — not only [Tuesday night] but the next three.”

The Liberty weren’t fully ready Tuesday. They’ll have another shot to get things right Saturday when they host the Indiana Fever.