CHICAGO NOTES

• The Sky came into the contest on a hot streak, having scored more than 90 points in each of their last two game. That success carried into the first half, as they notched 52 points on 59 percent shooting from the field.
• Gabby Williams had two steals in the first quarter. Going into the game the rookie was tied for second in steals in the WNBA.
• Chicago went on a 16-5 run in the second quarter to close New York’s lead. There were a total of 11 lead changes by the game’s end.
• Courtney Vandersloot’s 11 assists moved her past Vickie Johnson on the WNBA all-time leader list. Vandersloot now ranks No. 14 in all-time assists with 1211 total career assists. She also added 14 points, earning her second double-double of the season.
• All of Chicago’s starters scored in double-digits. Diamond DeShields led the team in scoring with 22 points. Jamierra Faulkner, Allie Quigley, Courtney Vandersloot, Stefanie Dolson, and Gabby Williams also scored in double digits.
• The Sky shot 56.5 percent and 52.4 percent from beyond the arc.
• Jamierra Faulkner scored two three-pointers in the fourth quarter. She finished the game with 15 points off the bench, shooting 3-of-4 from downtown.
• Chicago put up its first game over 100 points this season, winning 103-99.
• Diamond DeShields’ 22 points made for her third double-figure game in the team’s three-game win streak.

 

NEW YORK NOTES 

• The Liberty were playing the second leg of a back-to-back, having played in Washington the night before. New York got off to a quick start, notching 24 points in the game’s first six minutes. They scored just three points the rest of the first quarter.
• Tina Charles scored the first seven points of the game for the Liberty. With her seventh, she surpassed Tangela Smith to move into 17th on the WNBA all-time scoring list.
• The Liberty scored 55 points in the first half, their most points before the break this season. All 10 Liberty players who saw the floor in the first half registered a field goal.
• New York outrebounded Chicago 11-1 on the offensive glass in the first half, resulting in a 16-2 second-chance points advantage in favor of the Liberty.
• Epiphanny Prince added 21 for the Liberty for the second consecutive game. The guard made eight of her 12 attempts from the field, and she has seven threes over her past two games.
• Brittany Boyd and Amanda Zahui B joined Charles and Prince in double figures with 10 points apiece off the bench.
• The Liberty’s 99 points were the most they’ve scored this season, but so were the 103 points they allowed. The Liberty shot 50 percent from the field and racked up 24 assists for the second consecutive game.
• The loss was the Liberty’s fifth in a row, and their seventh in their last eight games

 

POSTGAME QUOTES

GENERAL MANAGER & HEAD COACH AMBER STOCKS

 On the victory:

“Our team was led by amazing play, leadership, intellect, and grit from our two point guards. Courtney Vandersloot and Jamierra Faulkner did a great job. Vandersloot did some amazing things on defense after having a little lull. She really regrouped and stepped it up, and to top it off, she did what she does and moved the ball well. Vandersloot ended the game with 11 assists, and Faulkner had five. New York did a great job of crowding Quigley. Early in the game, Kahleah Copper was able to relieve some of the pressure from Quigley, and then throughout the game, Diamond DeShields also did a great job of taking some of that pressure off by scoring the ball from the wing.”

On six players scoring in double-figures:

“When we move the ball, we play a great style of basketball that is not dependent on just one person. We have multiple people on the court who can make plays and score. Tonight, our shots were falling, the energy was high, and the five players on the court at any given moment were able to feed off of the positive energy from their teammates.”

On the three-game winning streak:

“103-99 doesn’t feel like momentum. We have to go home, rest, recover, get our bodies right, regroup and tip it up again on Sunday with the score at 00-00.”

SKY GUARD DIAMOND DESHIELDS

On importance of third-quarter run:

“They [Liberty] dominated us the entire first half rebounding wise. In the third quarter they had zero offensive rebounds, so we kind of came in regrouped, and put an emphasis on rebounding the basketball. For me it was about just staying aggressive, and getting to the free throw line and I knew that my shot was going to fall, and my team mates kept giving it to me; and you know it all worked out”

On six players scoring in double-figures:

“Those are just the type of players we have. We have a lot of players that are capable of scoring in a lot of different ways. If we can get that consistently from at least four to six players and up; we can be a really special team. You know, just staying consistent like I said and keeping our momentum up moving forward.”

On Courtney Vandersloot’s 11 assists:

“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Courtney Vandersloot is a really, really special point guard. She has been averaging over 10 assists a game. Coach comes in here and talks about it, and I’m like, ‘That’s not fair, how does she do that!?’ You know? I am glad she is on my team, having somebody who can survey the floor and also look for her shot. She is also scoring in double-figures, it’s just really special for our team.”

SKY GUARD COURTNEY VANDERSLOOT

On the road:

“It’s a good road win for us. We grinded it out; it was a good team win a lot of people stepped up. Those are the kind of wins that you enjoy on the road. It’s good momentum.”

On her double-double performance:

“That’s my job. I am just trying to get everybody involved. I’ve played with these girls for a couple of years now and I know where they need to have the ball to make them successful and if I am doing my job it makes it a lot easier for us offensively. We are scoring the basketball at a high rate and I am just trying to balance both; being aggressive and looking for my scoring and being able to get everyone involved.”

 

LIBERTY HEAD COACH KATIE SMITH

On back-to-back losses:

“Another tough one. We were able to put points on the board which felt good. We just couldn’t get stops on the defensive end when we needed. Chicago also shot the ball very well at the end of the game. We missed a bunch of layups and good looks. If those go down then we probably would’ve had momentum.”

On Epiphanny Prince’s back to back 20+ point games:

“The last two nights, it’s been really nice to have her contributions. Not only is she a great scorer in a variety of ways, 3 balls, pull ups, finishing at the rim. She can also find people and is a good facilitator. It’s really nice to have that presence because the other team has to honor her when she is on the floor. Coming off back to back games it’s really a positive to see her to be able to produce like this.”

On the contributions from Brittany Boyd:

“I thought it was a great game for her. Last night, she couldn’t quite find her rhythm. She’s always going to bring energy. I thought tonight she was very composed and found the people she needed to. She was aggressive on defense and patient on the offensive end. I know this is something she works on to be able to make the right read, when to go to score and when to find others. I thought she had a really nice night.”

On the season Tina Charles is having:

“She is consistently our best scorer. We need her presence, scoring and facilitating. She is a focal point that we really go through. We need that every single night. Rebounding, defensive end, she’s solid. On the offensive end, she is playing inside out. She needs to touch the ball every single possession. Not necessarily that she is shooting it but she needs to touch it to create for others and put pressure on the defense.”

On the Liberty’s effort:

“Our effort these last two games have been solid. Our effort has been some of the best for the whole season, for forty minutes. I thought we had been locked in, playing hard and together. The little things: the not boxing out, the loose balls, not getting on the floor, silly fouls here and there, not making shots at times. Those are the things that kind of creep up and bite us.”

On the Sky’s offense:

“They picked us apart a little bit. They were moving the ball and finding the open person. They were hitting tough shots also. Their guards do a nice job handling pressure and seeing what’s there. [Stefanie] Dolson, [Gabby] Williams, [Diamond] DeShields were all knocking down the shots they were given.”

LIBERTY GUARD SHAVONTE ZELLOUS

On the losses in the past two days:

“It’s more frustrating because it’s not like we’re getting blown out with these losses. It’s like one possession, two possessions, that we either didn’t get to the board or we didn’t capitalize on our offense. That hurts us sometimes and puts us in tough situations. These games are going to keep coming and they can break us down or build us up and right now we’re learning to let these games build us up.”

On the close games:

“It’s more frustrating because it’s not like we’re getting blown out with these losses, besides the Phoenix loss. It’s like one possession, two possessions, that we either didn’t get to the board, was a turnover, or we didn’t capitalize on our offense. That hurts us sometimes and puts us in tough situations like this or like last night against Washington where they beat us in a buzzer beater. Like Katie always preaches to us, these games are going to keep coming and they can break us down or build us up and right now we’re learning to let these games build us up instead of break us down.”

LIBERTY GUARD/FORWARD MARISSA COLEMAN

 On her injury:

“It’s day-by-day but it’s a lot better than it was on the first day.”

LIBERTY GUARD EPIPHANNY PRICE

On the loss:

“Coach told me to be more aggressive and take shots. It was fun when we were hitting shots, but it got frustrating because we had to start hitting them at the end.”