Sky-Liberty Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON
Posted Jun 09 2012 6:47PM

In her first three games this month, the Chicago Sky's Epiphanny Prince has produced one of the best strings of scoring performances in WNBA history. She's also been one of the buzzer-beating heroes during a franchise-best start.

Prince will try to set a league mark by scoring 30 or more points in a fourth consecutive game and lead the Sky to a team-record fifth straight victory Sunday against the resurgent New York Liberty.

Prince's run started with 31 points against Washington on June 1, and she had 13 of those during the final 1:44 of a 65-63 victory.

Sylvia Fowles hit a last-second layup to secure that win, but it was Prince who banked in a tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation and scored a career-high 33 points during a 94-92 overtime win over Atlanta the next day.

Prince, averaging a league-best 25.2 points, did it again against Tulsa on Friday when the Sky (5-1) used her buzzer-beating shot to force the extra period and her 32 points to down the Shock 98-91. That fourth straight win matched the franchise's longest streak from May 27-June 5, 2010.

"Sometimes she struggles with not wanting to take over," coach Pokey Chatman told the team's website. "I have to tell her, 'Please, just take over.' Only Epiphanny can stop Epiphanny."

Cynthia Cooper is the only other player in WNBA history with three consecutive 30-point games, doing so for the Houston Comets in 1997.

The Liberty (3-5) will try to end the Sky's run and slow down Prince while matching their longest win streak since a four-game run July 1-13.

Cappie Pondexter scored 25 points as her team held on for the latest of its victories, 76-70 in Washington on Friday.

Pondexter has averaged 25.3 points during New York's three straight wins after failing to top 20 in each of New York's franchise-worst five consecutive losses to open the season. Leilani Mitchell has also made 11 of 18 shots (61.1 percent) from 3-point range.

"Leilani, she's my backbone," Pondexter said. "I can trust her to knock those shots down when I'm penetrating. She kind of keeps the lane open for me. When she's knocking shots down I can get in there easy."

New York has won six consecutive home matchups over Chicago and rallied from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter during the most recent one, a 71-67 win Aug. 30.

The Liberty held Chicago to league-record one point in the fourth quarter during another home win Aug. 4 and edged the Sky 3-2 in last season's series after sweeping all four games in 2010.

The Sky's most recent road win over the Liberty was on Aug. 14, 2009.

Prince, Young carry Sky past Liberty, 73-64

Posted Jun 10 2012 6:48PM

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) Epiphanny Prince played in college at Rutgers, some 45 minutes from the Prudential Center, where she took the floor Sunday with the WNBA's Chicago Sky. Prince didn't want to admit it, but she knew that it was a special game, considering the location.

``I did have a lot of friends here and my brother here, but I tried to treat it like it was any other game,'' said Prince, who scored 26 points in the Sky' 73-64 victory over the New York Liberty. ``It feels pretty good to win here. I just wanted to win. I came out aggressive and wanted to attack their defense.''

Prince scored 10 points in the second quarter and had eight in the third.

``She's one of the five best players in the league right now,'' Chicago coach Pokey Chatman said about Price, the WNBA's scoring leader. ``But today, she just looked comfortable out there. It's part of her maturation. That's the Epiphanny Prince everyone has come to know. She opens things up for others and makes special plays. She's just a special player.''

The Sky are 6-1, the best start in the team's history.

``I'm very pleased with the way we defended,'' Chatman said. ``We emphasize defense in practice and that was what we did today. If you can keep a team in the 60s in this league, you clearly have a chance to win.''

Cappie Pondexter, also a former Rutgers player, led New York (3-6) with 22 points. The loss snapped a three-game win streak for the Liberty.

``I was nervous about this game because it was our fifth game in eight days,'' Liberty coach John Whisenant said. ``I was nervous and I obviously had a reason. We played five games in that period and they played two. That's what made me nervous more than anything. We were just a step slower, like we were running stuck in mud. I thought we stayed within distance, but Prince is the leading scorer in the league and made shots when they needed them. That's what leads to a loss.''

Tamera Young had 12 points for the Sky, and Sylvia Fowles finished 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Kia Vaughn added 16 points for New York.

The Sky then broke open the game with an 8-0 run in the second quarter. Swin Cash made two rebound baskets and Prince hit a long 3-pointer, giving Chicago a 33-22 lead with 4:41 left in the half.

Prince, who had 13 points at the half, hit another trey with 38 seconds left, giving the Sky their biggest lead at 38-25 and they took a 38-27 lead into intermission.

The Liberty shot 31 percent in the first half, but Pondexter had 15 points at the break.

Prince maintained the offensive onslaught in the third quarter, scoring eight points, all from the perimeter, enabling the Sky to hold onto the double-digit advantage.

• Sky: --
• Liberty: --

• Sky: --
• Liberty: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
• Officials: #8 Daryl Humphrey, #45 Tom Mauer, #31 Amy Bonner
• Attendance: 5908
• Duration: 1:46