The New York Liberty seek their longest winning streak in nearly six years on Sunday when they look to defeat the visiting Chicago Sky for the second time in less than 48 hours.
The Liberty (4-1), who knocked off the host Sky 77-76 on Friday, are bidding for their first five-game winning streak since winning 10 straight to close the 2017 regular season.
The Liberty trailed the Sky by as many as 12 points in the third quarter before staging their rally. New York won the game after Breanna Stewart banked-in a short jumper with seven seconds remaining.
“It was a bit of a misdirection to get people moving,” Stewart said of her game-winning shot. “(Betnijah Laney) came up, Marine (Johannes) came up, and then I just went to work.”
Chicago’s Courtney Williams missed a jumper as time expired.
“The good thing is we get to play them again in two days,” Sky coach James Wade said after Friday’s game. “If I were them, I’d be worried to play us again, because we’re hungry for that win and we were so close.”
Stewart scored 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting — including 3-for-8 from 3-point range — to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists. Laney added 17 points for New York.
Kayla Thornton added 12 points and Jonquel Jones finished with 10 for the Liberty, who have won four straight games for the first time since June 28-July 5, 2019.
Chicago (3-3) was led by Kahleah Copper’s game-high 20 points and team-best nine rebounds. Alanna Smith finished with a career-high 18 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the field — including 4-for-4 from 3-point range — to go along with six rebounds.
Marina Mabrey chipped in 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists for the Sky, who have lost three of their past four games.
“We’ve played eight out of nine games (including preseason) to our identity,” Wade said. “So I don’t mind losing these types of games if we fight the way we’re going to fight. Even though you lose, these games should give you some sort of confidence to keep on going.”
–Field Level Media
