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The Mercury looked poised to force a Game Five when they took a
14-point lead late in the third quarter but the Sky came roaring
back, tying the game at 72 in the fourth quarter on a wide open
three pointer by Candace Parker.
The Sky took a lead they would not relinquish on back-to-back
buckets by Stefanie Dolson and played lock-down defense on the
final Mercury possessions to win the title and send the sold-out
Chicago crowd into a frenzy.
Allie Quigley scored 26 points and fellow guard and wife
Courtney Vandersloot came one rebound away from a triple-double
as the Sky won behind a balanced attack they have been riding
all postseason.
"I'm so proud of this group," said Parker, who finished with 16
points, 13 rebounds and four steals to win her second
championship.
"So proud of our fight, of our next man up mentality. Stef
coming in and having those two layups, Sloot doing what she's
done all year. Allie too. It's amazing.
"We've got the whole city here. It's amazing how Chicago
supports us. We're champions for life now."
The Mercury, who were blown out in Game Three, were much better
through the first three quarters.
The visitors finished the first half on a 9-0 run to take a
44-37 lead into the break and led 63-54 at the end of the third
quarter behind dominant post play by Brittney Griner, who
finished with a game high 28 points.
But the fourth quarter belonged to the Sky, who outscored the
Mercury 26-11 in the final period to bring the trophy to
Chicago.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los AngelesEditing by Toby Davis)
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