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Stewart, Vandersloot spark Liberty to 86-69 victory over Sky

By AP Reporter
Published  September 3, 2023 7:41pm CDT
Sky
Associated Press

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CHICAGO - Breanna Stewart and Courtney Vandersloot had double-doubles and sparked a 22-0 run in the fourth quarter to lead the New York Liberty to their sixth straight victory, 86-69 over the Chicago Sky on Sunday.

Stewart finished with 26 points, 14 rebounds and five assists for her 19th double-double of the season for the Liberty (30-7). Vandersloot pitched in with 20 points, 10 assists, six steals and five rebounds against her former team. Betnijah Laney had 17 points and Jocelyn Willoughby scored 10 off the bench.

New York trails Las Vegas by 1 1/2 games for the top spot in the playoffs. 

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Kahleah Copper scored 23 points to lead the Sky (15-22), who entered play tied with Los Angeles for the final playoff spot. Chicago has the tiebreaker advantage over the Sparks after winning three of four match-ups this season.

The Liberty took the first two-possession lead when Vandersloot buried a 3-pointer for a 22-17 advantage. Marina Mabrey answered from beyond the arc, scoring 10 of her 12 points in the first quarter to get the Sky within 22-20.

New York twice built six-point leads in the second quarter, but Copper scored seven straight points to get Chicago within 37-36 with 2:03 left. The Sky went scoreless from there and Willoughby and Stewart had baskets to put the Liberty up 41-36 at halftime.

The Liberty stayed in front until Courtney Williams and Copper sank back-to-back 3-pointers for the Sky to knot the score at 49-all with 3:43 left in the third period. Sika Koné followed with a layup and Chicago grabbed its first lead since midway through the first period. The Liberty used a 10-6 spurt to lead 59-57 heading to the final quarter.

Koné hit a jumper to put the Sky up 61-60. Stewart answered with a 3-pointer and Vandersloot connected three times from beyond the arc in a 22-0 run that left the Liberty leading by 21 with 3:09 remaining.