WNBA Chicago Sky

Sky Falls to New York

Published on August 11, 2015 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


ROSEMONT- In her first game back at Madison Square Garden, Sky guard Cappie Pondexter scored 23 points to lead all scorers in the third match-up between the Sky (14-10) and Liberty (15-6) this season. Despite Pondexter's strong shooting night, Chicago was unable to overcome a balanced scoring attack from the Eastern Conference leaders as they fell 84-63 to the Liberty.

Tamera Young started in place of an injured Elena Delle Donne (ankle). Young took advantage of the opportunity contributing on both ends of the floor. Jessica Breland paced the Sky early, scoring six points in the first five minutes of action until Epiphanny Prince began to heat up for the Liberty. Prince delivered 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting to give New York a 26-17 lead at the end of the first.

In the second quarter, Pondexter found her stride, scoring 11 points and helping the Sky pull within six but costly turnovers allowed the Liberty to maintain a 45-36 lead at the half. In the first 20 minutes the Sky had 11 assists on 17 made field goals.

Courtney Vandersloot scored or assisted on each of the Sky's first three possessions to start the second half pulling the Sky within three points (45-42). The Liberty responded with a 7-0 run as the Sky hit a cold spell shooting 2-of-14 and closed the quarter trailing 66-49.

In the fourth, Pondexter started a 6-0 run with a transition layup. Dos Santos scored on back-to-back possessions to cut into the Liberty lead (72-57) but that is as close as the Sky would get as New York defeated Chicago 84-63. Pondexter led all scorers in the game with 23 points and Vandersloot finished with eight points, nine assists and five rebounds.

"You have to give credit to New York, but I do not think they have seen our best yet," said Vandersloot. "We get to play them one more time fortunately and we will be ready."

The Sky will continue its three-game road trip on Friday night against the Seattle Storm at Key Arena. Tip-off is set for 9:00 pm CT on NBA TV. The road trip concludes with a game against Los Angeles on Sunday, August 16 at 4:00 pm CT on The U Too.

Postgame Notes:

Chicago Sky 63, New York Liberty 84

Notes

Chicago (14-10), the league's top scoring team at 84.2 ppg, was without leading scorer Elena Delle Donne, who did not dress due to an ankle injury suffered in the Sky's win over Phoenix on Sunday afternoon.

Cappie Pondexter led all scorers in the game with 23 points and shot 55.6% from the field. She is currently averaging 15.3 points, 2.1 assists, and 4.1 rebounds with the Chicago Sky this season.

Courtney Vandersloot finished with eight points, nine assists, and five rebounds. She is now averaging 11.2 points, 5.8 assists, and 3.3 rebounds for the 2015 season.

The Sky attempted only five free throws. Heading into tonight's game, they averaged 18.8 attempts per game. The Sky's three made free throws against New York accounted for just 4.7% of their scoring. Prior to tonight's game, free throws accounted for 19% of the Chicago's scoring.

The Sky's defense held Liberty center Tina Charles to a season-low four points. She is averaging 17.2 points and 9.2 rebounds in 2015.

Epiphanny Prince scored 22 points and Kiah Stokes recorded her second-career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds as the New York Liberty handled the Chicago Sky 84-63 on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.

New York outscored Chicago 38-28 in the paint and continued its hot outside shooting against Chicago, nailing six 3-pointers, tied for the second most of the year; in three games against the Sky this season the Liberty is averaging 7.0 3-pointers per game.

New York boasts the best defensive numbers in the league, ranking first in the WNBA in points allowed and defensive field goal percentage, and held Chicago to 63 points for a second-straight game, after picking up a 77-63 win on the road Friday night.

With the win, New York improved to 15-6 overall and extended its current win streak to three, opening up a 2.5 game lead over the Washington Mystics for first place in the Eastern Conference. The Liberty improved to 8-2 at The Garden and have won five-straight on its home court dating back to late June.

QUOTES

Chicago Sky Head Coach Pokey Chatman

(On tonight's game...)

"We got down early and we had an opportunity to come back at the half. We made a decent run and cut it to a two-possession game but we weren't able to sustain anything. I just told the team, we had a span of about four and a half minutes where we got really good shots, but they didn't fall. We can't let the lack of offense affect us on the defensive end."

(On the next match-up against Seattle...)

"We need to get back and watch some video on some areas where we broke down. We were a little better in certain areas, but I think our ability to rebound the basketball and keep people out the paint will help us. We need to get ready for a team who's record might not look similar to ours, but we have to get ready to bounce back and get stops and get ourselves in offensive transition."

Chicago Sky Guard Cappie Pondexter

(On New York Liberty...)

"Playing at home is all about the energy, and they capitalized on that from the beginning of the game. Epiphanny Prince set the tone for them; she made some crucial shots and everyone else kind of followed suit. I thought we punched back in the third quarter, made some adjustments and we didn't knock a few shots down and I think they capitalized on top of that, trailing ever since then. It was definitely a learning experience, but the show doesn't stop there."

(On Elena Delle Donne...)

"She is a key contributor to the team and it was the first time we played without her this season. So I am sure it was a little of an adjustment for everybody to play without her. We depend on her for a lot of the scoring load, and at the end of the day I think we are a solid enough team to win against anyone in the league."

Chicago Sky Guard Courtney Vandersloot

(On Elena Delle Donne...)

"Nobody can replace Elena Delle Donne, so we needed a lot of people to step up. That is why I was trying to distribute a little bit, and get a lot of people some open looks; just to be aggressive because we are missing 20+ points and 10+ rebounds, but we needed some people to step up and it just wasn't the night tonight."

(On New York Liberty...)

"You have to give credit to New York, but I do not think they have seen our best yet. We get to play them one more time fortunately and we will be ready".

New York Liberty Head Coach Bill Laimbeer

(On tonight's game...)

"We came out without any emotion and no energy defensively. I told the starters that I would go right to the bench unless they picked it up. We got a couple good baskets and then it snowballed from there. They missed some easy looks... It was a test of wills to see if they could get back in the game. They had some good looks, but they just missed them.... I wasn't surprised we held them to 41% shooting. They were 50% in the first half so they must have shot 32% in the second half. That's how we play. That's how we win basketball games - with intensity on defense. We didn't have it in the first half but we definitely had it in the second. "

(On New York Liberty...)

"At the start of this year I said I have no clue what we had. I knew we were going to have really good chemistry and I knew that we would have people who were willing to play hard. I didn't know how all of the pieces would come together. Kiah Stokes is the glue for us... She is always in great defensive position. Always! I knew Tanisha [Wright] was a great leader but I never coached her. She's a phenomenal leader. She's our floor general. I knew Epiphany [Prince] could score... Overall we made some fine moves... I think we are just New York. We are solid defensively and if we can find ways to score then watch out for us."

New York Liberty Forward Swin Cash

(On how the team stops complacency from creeping in...)

"It is the veteran's job to make sure we keep this team from getting complacent. Tanisha [Wright] and I keep telling the team to stay in the moment. As long as keep working hard everything else will take care of itself."

(On what got them going after the Sky cut the double-digit halftime lead down to three in the 3rd quarter...)

"We knew they were going to make a run. Even though they played without Elena [Delle Donne] they still have good players who have pride in their game. We took a breather, took a step back, and started playing New York [Liberty] basketball to re-establish the lead"

(On the team stepping up without Tina [Charles] scoring double digit points...)

"That is the great thing about this team, we have a number of players who can score. It is great for Tina [Charles] because she can have an off-night and not feel the need to press because she can depend on her teammates to pick up the scoring load."

New York Liberty Guard Epiphanny Prince

(On how the team keeps the momentum going...)

"We keep working on us. We feel like we are clicking and playing good basketball right now so we just need to continue to work hard and get better every day."

(On how it felt to play in front of Coach [Vivian] Stringer...)

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"It was great. I love Coach Stringer. [Tonight] she told me that she is proud of me and that made me feel good"

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 11, 2015


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