Kahleah Copper sparks Sky's rally past Liberty

 

[June 05, 2023]  Kahleah Copper scored 19 of her game-high 27 points in the second half to rally the Chicago Sky to an 86-82 victory over the host New York Liberty on Sunday in Brooklyn.

Copper shot 10 of 17 from the field, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range, to go along with seven rebounds for Chicago, which rallied from a 19-point deficit with 8:30 left in the third quarter.

Marina Mabrey added 17 points and four assists for the Sky (4-3), which ended a two-game losing streak and rebounded from a 77-76 loss to the Liberty in Chicago on Friday.

Courtney Williams chipped in 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists, with Elizabeth Williams finishing with 11 points and seven rebounds for the Sky on Sunday.

Chicago, which outscored New York 56-35 in the second half, finished the game shooting 30 of 67 (44.8 percent) from the field, including 9 of 23 (39.1 percent) from 3-point range.

Breanna Stewart had 20 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for the Liberty (4-2), who were denied their first five-game winning streak since winning 10 straight to close the 2017 regular season.

Courtney Vandersloot added 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, while Marine Johannes finished with 11 points for the Liberty.

New York shot 33 of 74 (44.6 percent) from the field, including 6 of 25 (24 percent) from beyond the arc.

After the Liberty pushed their lead to 51-32 on Sabrina Ionescu's 3-pointer with 8:30 left in the third quarter, the Sky countered with a 19-4 run to pull to within 55-51 on Copper's 3-pointer with 4:29 left in the period.

New York extended its lead to 70-61 on Kayla Thornton's 3-pointer with 8:29 remaining, but Chicago responded with an 11-0 run to take its first lead of the game at 72-70 on Courtney Williams' layup with 4:24 to go.

The Liberty rallied to tie the game at 76 on Stewart's jumper, but Courtney Williams' 3-pointer gave the Sky a 79-76 lead with 1:42 remaining.

Elizabeth Williams split a pair of free throws to make it a four-point game before Vandersloot's layup pulled the Liberty to within 80-78 with 59.1 seconds left.

Ionescu was called for an offensive foul with 27.1 seconds left and Mabrey split a pair of free throws for an 82-78 lead with 23.1 seconds remaining.

--Field Level Media

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