Epiphanny Prince leads as Chicago Sky rally back to beat Atlanta Dream 81-69 – WNBA Recap
Epiphanny Prince punctuated 24 points, three rebounds and three steals as Chicago Sky rallied from a double-digit margin and cruised past the Atlanta Dream 81-69 at Allstate Arena on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old guard did not shoot all that well and was only 6 for 16 from the field including 1 for 4 from beyond the arc, but she managed to get to the charity stripe time and again, nailing 11 of 12 free throw attempts.
Courtney Vandersloot shot 7 for 10 from the floor and ended with 16 points, a game-high nine assists and three steals for Chicago, who have won both of their previous two games.
Michelle Snow was also effective. She pounded 13 points, clutched seven rebounds and erupted with a game high six blocks for Chicago, who also got a double-double in the shape of 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds from Sylvia Fowles. With this win, Sky have climbed to the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference with a 6-6 record.
Angel McCoughtry led Atlanta with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals and Erika de Souza had 14 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks in the losing effort. Iziane Castro Marques also ended with 12 points and six rebounds for the Dream, who have lost three of their previous four games.
Chicago shot 45.2 percent (28 for 62) from the field, 21.4 (3 for 14) from three-point range and 75.9 from free throw line (22 for 29). Atlanta, on the other hand, shot just 38.4 percent (28 for 73) from the floor, 14.3 percent (1 for 7) from three-point range and 70.6 percent from the line (12-17).
First Quarter
Dream got off to a good start and carried a ten-point lead (17-7) early, before Prince drove to the rim and Young followed with a free throw to cut the deficit to seven, 17-10. Atlanta however countered with five unanswered points in the last minute of the quarter to take a 22-10 advantage into the second period.
Second Quarter
Keyed by a nine point blitz from Prince, the one way traffic continued in the second quarter and Atlanta carried a 35-22 lead with 04:43 to go in the frame.
However, the game turned on its head in the passage that followed.
Sky started with a 4-0 run to trim the deficit to nine points, 35-26. De Souza responded with a jumper for Atlanta but Angie Bjorklund knocked down a three and Vandersloot followed her with a lay-up to cut the margin to six, 37-31. De Souza countered again and this time she drove to the rim in the closing seconds to give Atlanta a 39-31 at halftime.
Third Quarter
Although, Atlanta managed to hang tough late in the first half, Sky had clinched the momentum and they ensured that they carry it into the third quarter. Sky stormed back into the game in the third quarter as they tied the game at 41 early.
Atlanta however tried hard to put a leash on Chicago in the next few minutes and actually succeeded. McCoughtry hit a free throw with almost two minutes to go in the third period to make it 53-47. However, Chicago then scored five consecutive points to make it a one point contest (53-52), heading into the last quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Sky opened the fourth quarter on a 4-0 run and went ahead by 56-53 – their first lead of the game. Atlanta again tried to counter and McCoughtry and de Souza combined for the next 10 points of Atlanta to keep them ahead at 63-62 with nearly 5 minutes to go in the game. However, Chicago scorched Atlanta with nine straight points to finally break the game. A procession of free throws then followed in the last one and a half minutes, as Atlanta failed to threaten the outcome in the remaining time.
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