Still in with a mathematical chance of making it to the playoffs Chicago Sky demolish Phoenix Mercury on Sunday night...
On Sunday night led by the efforts of Eshaya Murphy, who put up 22 points and 6 rebounds, Chicago Sky continued their pursuit of a playoff berth by defeating Phoenix Mercury 86-55.
Epiphanny Prince provided good support by chipping in 15 points while Courtney Vandersloot added 14. Swin Cash also had a good game with 12 points and 8 rebounds. Despite the victory, Sky still find themselves trailing New York
Liberty, by half a game, for the fourth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference. The problem is that Liberty will take on the lowly Washington Mystics in their last game and the Sky need Mystics to win.
Charde Houston led the losing effort for Phoenix with 15 points, shooting the ball 6 of 12 from the floor. Alexis Hornbuckle was the only other Phoenix player to score in double-figures with 10 points.
Sky outrebounded Mercury 40-37 in the game but the main factor which turned the tie in their favour was their defensive effort. They forced Phoenix into 18 turnovers and made the most of their chances at the other end, shooting
43.8% from the field.
Mercury were not helped by a slow start either. They quickly found themselves trailing 9-2 while Chicago continued to connect on their attempts at the basket. By the end of the first quarter, Chicago had prolonged their advantage
into double figures, closing out with a 7-0 run to hold a 29-15 lead.
A 9-2 run to start the second quarter completely put Chicago in the driver's seat. They closed the first half with another strong 12-2 burst and took a 55-26 into the interval.
Mercury, led by Houston and Hornbuckle, finally offered some resistance in the third quarter, but despite their best of efforts, Sky were never troubled as they continued to add on to their tally and took a 74-47 lead into the
final quarter.
The final quarter was a mere formality and both teams pretty much played like that, struggling to score, before the game eventually ended on 86-55.
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