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Chicago Sky

Sky Secures Playoff Berth With 98-96 Victory

August 29, 2015 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


ATLANTA- Amidst a tight race in the Eastern Conference, the Chicago Sky (18-11) returned to action against the Atlanta Dream (12-17) on Saturday night inside Philips Arena. On the front end of a back-to-back Chicago had six players score in double figures, including all five starters, to outlast the Dream 98-96. Cappie Pondexter led the charge with 22 points and four assists while Courtney Vandersloot finished with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds as the Sky secured its third consecutive playoff berth.

"It just shows that we have multiple weapons and that we can play off of each other," said Sky Head Coach and General Manager Pokey Chatman. "I felt there were times where players really contributed multiple good shots and plays at crucial times."

With Elena Delle Donne out of the lineup (foot), Courtney Vandersloot guided the WNBA's highest scoring offense early on. With seven points and one assist, Vandersloot accounted for nine of the Sky's first 13 points in the game. Allie Quigley came in firing off the bench contributing five points as the Sky took a 24-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Quigley started the game 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, including a three pointer to begin the second quarter as Chicago's offense continued to roll. The Sky shot 52.9% from the field in the first half. In addition to Quigley's 11 first half points, Erika De Souza added seven in the second quarter as Chicago maintained a 52-45 lead at halftime.

Pondexter dominated the second half with 16 points. She was 7-for-10 from the field and added three assists to help the Sky fend off 15 third-quarter points from the Dream's Angel McCoughtry. McCoughtry scored 26 points in the second half, and finished with 33 in the game, but Sky forward Jessica Breland scored eight of the Sky's final 14 points to seal a 98-96 victory.

The Sky returns to action tomorrow night against the Connecticut Sun at Allstate Arena. Tip-off is set for 6:00pm CT on ESPN3.

Postgame Notes:

Chicago Sky 98, Atlanta Dream 96

NOTESWith tonight's 98-96 win and Connecticut's 80-66 loss, the Sky secured its third consecutive playoffs berth. All four games between Chicago and Atlanta this season were decided by five points or less. The loss snapped a season-best three-game winning streak for AtlantaChicago had six players score in double figures, including all five starters. Cappie Pondexter led the charge with 22 points and four assists, and Courtney Vandersloot finished with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Cappie Pondexter passed Lauren Jackson on the All-Time Leaders List in field goals made with her 17th point of the night. Pondexter is now No. 5 on the list with 2,092 field goals made in her career. Erika de Souza finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in her first game against her previous team (Atlanta Dream). In the first half, de Souza scored nine points, 4-of-5 (.800) from the field. Chicago's 52 points in the first half were the most the Dream have allowed to an opponent in the opening 20 minutes of any game this season. Elena Delle Donne was not active for tonight's game (foot). Angel McCoughtry posted 33 points - her 28th game with double-digit points this season and her fifth with 30 or more. She also had 11 rebounds for her second double-double this season. Sancho Lyttle finished with 13 points - her second game in double figure over the last three and seventh this season.Matte Ajavon registered double-figure points for the second straight game and sixth time this season as she finished with 13.DeLisha Milton-Jones made her first start of the season.Roneeka Hodges was inactive for the sixth consecutive game (calf).

QUOTES

Chicago Sky Head Coach and General Manager Pokey Chatman

(On the past four games close with Atlanta...)

"They're resilient, they're athletic, and they're always in attack mode... so they're always going to have an opportunity to win."

(On tonight's game...)

"It was nice to come here when Atlanta has been playing well. We missed out on 20 points [Delle Donne] and still managed to win and score over 90 points."

(On Elena Delle Donne not playing tonight...)

"When you don't have a starter available, you worry, especially a player leading the race for MVP. It's tough, but thankfully we have a veteran like Pondexter who has been in these types of ball games and [she] held it down for us."

(On all starters scoring double digits...)

"That is great, it just shows that we have multiple weapons and that we can play off of each other. I felt there were times where players really contributed multiple good shots and plays at crucial times."

Chicago Sky Guard Cappie Pondexter

(On tonight's performance...)

"I was clenching my focus on stepping up and trying to knock shots down. We were good tonight, so now we can rest and next game do better."

(On playing without Elena Delle Donne...)

"We know we're missing 24 points a game, but I think she [Delle Donne] can safely say she has a good team around her. Whether she is playing or not, we're going to get the job done."

Chicago Sky Center Erika de Souza

(On tribute to her shown before game...)

"I shed a few tears, it was good to see that energy after playing here for eight years... along with my family and friends."

(On playing against your past team Atlanta...)

"It's business you know? Atlanta was my family, but they [Chicago Sky] are my family too and we came to win."

Atlanta Dream"¨Head Coach Michael Cooper

(Opening Statement...)

"What a game! I'm very, very proud, very proud of our team. After playing a tough game like we did last night in Indiana, to get up at four o'clock in the morning, catch a flight at six, and land at eight and for all the things it took for us to come play and for us to play this kind of way. Again, I'm very honored, privileged, to coach this team. It was a great effort by these ladies. I knew it was going to be a tough effort. This is a team that's vying for a playoff position. We came out and gave it our best shot and took them all the way to the wire."

(On third quarter performance...)

"I'm just happy about our overall game in the second half. I thought we did enough to keep that game close because usually on a back-to-back, teams have the tendency to sluff the first half and get buried, usually by 15 to 20 points. And for us to keep that game within five to seven points in the first half, I thought it was a tremendous effort for us. For us to come out in the second half, I expected that of us. I thought once we got our legs up under us and got the juices flowing, we would do exactly what we did. But again, you're playing against a good team. I thought we had too many defensive lapses on the shooters, we let them get some shots up that they shouldn't have gotten or uncontested shots and when you're giving a team those kinds of opportunities, they're going to knock those shots down. "

(On Angel McCoughtry not starting...)

"It was a coach's decision. It's a couple of things that we are looking at. We did such a good job without her in the last game. Again, we can't win this thing without her but it gives the team a good boost to know that we can play competitively with her on the bench."

(On only six turnovers...)

"We have to do that. We've got to stop beating ourselves. To me, when you throw the ball away or take quick shots, quick shots are just like turnovers, when we don't do that, we're a very good basketball team. And when we put in the execution part of running our offense, we become a very, very good basketball team. I'm very proud of these ladies and we still have an outside chance of getting into the playoffs, some magic has got to happen but we'll play hard and play hard until the end."

(On Delle Donne not playing...)

"We knew whether she's out there or not, what it did was give more people some more shots. Usually she's taking a majority of the shots so we know where the ball's going. Pondexter got a lot of shots, Quigley got some shots, Vandersloot got some shots, Breland made some shots we didn't expect."

(On Roneeka Hodges injury...)

"Roneeka is day-to-day. She's getting a lot better. Hopefully, she'll be ready by the next game, if not, then the Washington [Mystics] game. We have three or four more days for her to really heal."

Atlanta Dream Forward Angel McCoughtry

(On coming up short in tonight's game after the big comeback in the third quarter...)

"I think it was a good game it was just a tough one. Chicago [Sky] is one of the top four teams. It was a good effort it just shows that we are definitely getting better as a team and we just have to keep fighting into the next year for a better team."

(On scoring fifteen points in the third quarter...)

"I was really just trying to win, we knew they [Chicago Sky] were going to clinch the lead if they won, so we were really just trying to disrupt some teams because we are still trying to fight to get in the playoffs. It's just one of those things that when you fall short you just have to keep pushing this was a learning experience."

(On the difficulty of making the playoffs this year...)

"I believe we might have one more chance left. We are still just doing the best we can and we are not going to give up and continue to play hard."

(On not starting this game...)

"It doesn't matter if I play two minutes or 20 minutes, I just want to come out and be a leader."

Atlanta Dream Forward DeLisha Milton-Jones

(On breaking the record for most games played as a WNBA player...)

"It is always an honor when you're honored for anything you do in this game. With my longevity in this game and the fact that I am still receiving awards at this point in my career is very special and it tickles me pink when I think about it. It's definitely a humbling thing at the same time and I have a handful of people to thank for always pushing me through my injuries and encouraging me to never give up."

(On coming back from a major injury and breaking a record...)

"It's definitely even more significant because this off season I had a lot of things going through my mind as I went through surgery and trying to just regain the strength to walk normally, but to be able to be back on the court I do take joy in every moment that I am given on the court."

Atlanta Dream Guard Matee Ajavon

(On preparing defensively for tonight's game knowing that Chicago's offense was one of the best in the league...)

"The same way we prepare for every game. We know that every team is going to give us their best so our mindset was to be aggressive and match their intensity plus more."

(On the turning point of tonight's game...)

"We just did not get important stops. We gave [Jessica] Breland a lot of open shots and she made some big shots for their team."

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