‘Clutch’ Epiphanny Prince helps Chicago Sky edge past Washington Mystics 71-70 – WNBA Recap
On Saturday night, Epiphanny Prince hit two of three free throws in the last second as Chicago Sky beat the slumping Washington Mystics 71-70 before 10,273 booing fans at the Verizon Center. It was second consecutive victory for
Chicago and fourth defeat in row for the Mystics.
Prince ended with 12 points and four assists in the victory, however it was Sylvia Fowles who did all the running on the night and led Sky with a terrific double-double. Fowles scored a game high 25 points, on an 11 for 17 shooting
from the field and grabbed 11 rebounds for Chicago.
Tamera Young had 11 points, a game best seven steals, seven rebounds and four assists for Sky, who are just two games behind the Atlanta Dream for the fourth position in the Eastern Conference - the last spot for WNBA playoffs.
The Mystics were led by Matee Ajavon with 23 points on 7 for 13 shooting from the field and 8 for 12 from free throw line. The 25-year-old guard also dished out four assists and grabbed two rebounds in the loss. Crystal Langhorne
had 18 points, five rebounds and two steals while Marissa Coleman ended with 11 points and rebounds for the Mystics, who are sixth in the East with WNBA second-worst 5-20 record.
Washington shot 45.5 percent (25 for 55) from the floor on the night, including 50 percent (5 for 10) from downtown, and 75 percent (15 for 20) from free throw line. Sky, on the other hand, shot just 43.1 percent (28 for 65) from
the field, including 58.3 percent (7 for 12) from beyond the arc, and 72.7 percent (8 for 11) from free throw line. Chicago committed 18 turnovers as compared to 21 by the Mystics.
Sky opened the first quarter on a 4-0 run and on the back of 11-point spurt by Fowles, maintained their lead to carry a 21-16 advantage into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Washington struck early and scored the first 11 points to go ahead by 27-21. In the ensuing passage, Sky countered with an 18-6 run and took a 39-33 lead with 01:30 to go in the quarter. The Mystics then
outscored Chicago 5-3 and trimmed their deficit to 42-38 at the end of the second period.
Trailing by four points at halftime, Washington converted their deficit into a one point lead, 57-56, with 21 seconds to go in the third quarter. However, Kraayeveld hit a jumper in the closing second to put Chicago ahead by 58-57,
heading into the fourth.
Washington continued to maintain pace with Sky in the fourth quarter and held one a point lead, 70-69, when Matee Ajavon fouled Chicago’s Prince on a desperation heave from almost half-court at the buzzer.
Ajavon pretended to be unaware of the foul and went for the shot as the final buzzer sounded. However, after reviewing the tape, the officials ordered the scorekeeper to reset the game clock to 0.7 of second and sent Prince to
the line for three free throws. The 23-year-old guard hit the first two free throws before intentionally missing the third one and sealed the victory for Chicago.
“I felt as if I got a good contest,” Ajavon said of the controversial foul call after the game. “I don’t want to say anything much else about it.”
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