Liberty-Sky Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Jul 05 2012 6:07PM

With Epiphanny Prince out, the Chicago Sky have needed someone other than Sylvia Fowles to step up.

After a big effort by their bench helped end a lengthy slide, the Sky take on the visiting New York Liberty on Friday night.

Chicago had struggled after losing Prince, its leading scorer, to a broken foot on June 16. The Sky (8-5) had dropped four straight by an average of 9.5 points before erasing a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit in a 71-69 win over Atlanta on Sunday.

Fowles had 21 points and 12 rebounds while Chicago had three players score at least 11 points off the bench, including 13 from Eshaya Murphy.

"They needed (the win) because they understand where they've let each other down," coach Pokey Chatman said. "It was just nice to see that energy."

Besides the offensive lift the bench provided, the energy was especially evident on the defensive end. The Sky had allowed an average of 82.0 points over their previous four games, but held the Dream to 39.7 percent shooting while outscoring them 25-15 in the fourth quarter.

Chicago primarily used its bench during the comeback.

"What I like is finishing the game with our bench out there and to have veteran players coaching from Ticha (Penicheiro) to Swin (Cash) to Ruth (Riley)," Chatman said. "It sounds different coming from a player and it gives you confidence."

The Sky could use another big effort from their bench against New York. They defeated the Liberty 73-64 on the road June 10, getting 26 points from Prince. Fowles had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

New York (5-9) is also trying to win back-to-back games following a 77-59 victory over Seattle on Saturday. The Liberty had dropped four of their previous five.

"It was a big win, a much-needed win,'' said Cappie Pondexter, who scored 20 points. "We were really striving to win. ... I think having a week off and getting our legs refreshed and our minds refocused, we were able to come out and win.''

Essence Carson scored a season-high 22 points, shooting 7 of 14. She had totaled 10 points in the previous two games while connecting on 5 of 19 shots.

The Liberty will be without center Kia Vaughn, who scored a season-high 16 in the loss to Chicago last month, after she suffered a concussion against the Storm. Fellow starter Plenette Pierson remains out with knee and hamstring injuries.

Liberty upend Sky 64-59

Posted Jul 07 2012 1:33AM

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) Cappie Pondexter scored a team-high 19 points, including a pair of key late free throws, and New York held off a late Chicago comeback for a 64-59 victory on Friday night.

The win was the second straight for the Liberty (6-9) and first in two tries over Chicago.

``I knew they would make a run at home,'' Pondexter said. ``We showed we really wanted to win. We had to dig deep at the end and take control of the game. We had to settle down and take their momentum away.''

The Sky (8-6) trailed 61-59 following Sylvia Fowles' bank shot with 1:23 left, but missed a chance to tie on a turnover with 48 seconds to play.

Pondexter, fouled on an inbound pass with 19.3 seconds left, hit two free throws to open a four-point Liberty lead.

``We just told them to win it on defense and rebounding,'' Liberty coach John Whisenant said. ``We had trouble scoring and I knew it would be that way. We missed some baskets that were easy, but so did they. They missed some putbacks. I'll take the way it was.''

Essence Carson had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Leilani Mitchell had 12 points and Kara Braxton added 11 for New York.

Fowles paced Chicago with 20 points, while Tamera Young added 16. The Sky shot 6 for 21 from the free-throw line and their 28.6 percent from the line was a franchise low.

``We just threw it away,'' Fowles said. ``We had no sense of urgency. I don't know why. We missed free throws, 10 missed layups. We've been talking about this since Day 1. The coaches do everything they need to do to prepare us for the game. It's so frustrating. This is not OK. I don't know what it's going to take. We've got to dig deep and win as a team.''

Pondexter had seven first-quarter points - including a 3-point play with 11.3 seconds left - as New York opened an 18-14 lead. Chicago hit just three of 11 free throws and went 5 for 14 from the field.

Braxton had seven points in the second quarter and closed the half with 11 as the Liberty led 38-31.

Earlier, the Sky briefly closed the gap to 33-29 on Courtney Vandersloot's jumper with 1:33 left. Fowles had nine points at half for Chicago.

Carson's layup gave New York a 42-33 lead early in the third. But Chicago chipped away and trailed 48-46 after Young's putback with 2:42 left.

Back-to-back Pondexter baskets restored a six-point lead for the Liberty, and Carson hit a buzzer-beater for a 54-46 advantage.

Young scored seven points in the first 4:30 in an 11-0 Sky run that gave the hosts a 57-54 lead - their first since the opening quarter. The Liberty answered with seven straight points to reclaim the advantage.

``You hold a team to 64 at home, that's enough to win, but we're not a very good basketball team right now and that's what I told them,'' Sky coach Pokey Chatman said. ``It's about toughness. You're going to miss some shots and miss a couple free throws, but you can't set records like shooting under 30 percent from the free-throw line.''

The Sky have lost five of their past six after starting the season at 7-1.

Chicago travels to Indiana on Saturday while New York is home on Sunday against San Antonio.

• Liberty: --
• Sky: --

• Liberty: --
• Sky: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
• Officials: #38 Lamont Simpson, #24 Tony Dawkins, #37 Matthew Myers
• Attendance: 4211
• Duration: 2:00