Breanna Stewart's go-ahead basket lifts Liberty over Sky

[June 03, 2023]  Breanna Stewart's short jumper with 7.1 seconds left lifted the New York Liberty to a 77-76 win over the host Chicago Sky on Friday.
 
 Stewart finished with 19 points on 7-for-16 shooting, including 3-for-8 from 3-point range, to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists. Betnijah Laney added 17 points for New York.  

Kayla Thornton had 12 points and Jonquel Jones chipped in 10 for the Liberty (4-1), who won their fourth straight game. Sabrina Ionescu finished with five points, five rebounds and three assists.

The Liberty, who trailed by as many as 12 points in the third quarter, shot 31-of-67 (46.3 percent) from the field, including 9-of-26 (34.6 percent) from beyond the arc.

Chicago (3-3) was led by Kahleah Copper's game-high 20 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds, while Alanna Smith added 18 points and 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.

Chicago shot 30-of-71 (42.3 percent) from the field, including an impressive 11-of-19 (57.9 percent) from beyond the arc. The Sky also outrebounded the Liberty 38-28.

After Stewart's layup tied the game at 71-all with 2:49 left, Thornton's 3-pointer gave the Liberty a 74-71 advantage on their next possession.

The Sky pulled to within 74-73 on Mabrey's two free throws with 2:05 left before Courtney Williams' 3-pointer gave Chicago a 76-74 lead with 55 seconds remaining.

Marine Johannes split a pair of three throws to make it a one-point game with 50 seconds left before Stewart rebounded Copper's missed jumper with 14 seconds left to give the Liberty a chance to win the game.

After Stewart delivered from close range, Williams missed a mid-range jumper as time expired.

Trailing 59-56 entering the fourth, the Liberty opened the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 63-59 lead on Ionescu's 3-pointer with 8:17 left in the game.

But the Sky rallied to take a 71-67 lead on Williams' jumper with 3:39 left before Laney's jumper made it a two-point game with 3:13 remaining.

After Courtney Vandersloot's layup pulled the Liberty to within 27-25 with 5:59 left in the second quarter, the Sky went on a 16-10 run to take a 43-35 halftime advantage.

--Field Level Media

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