New York Liberty and Chicago Sky win: WNBA Roundup June 23, 2011
Two games took place in Women National Basketball Association (WNBA) on June 23, 2011. Here are the highlights of the two games:
New York Liberty 94 - Tulsa Shock 82
On Thursday night, New York Liberty snapped their four-game losing streak with a brilliant 94-82 victory over Tulsa Shock at the BOK Center.
Kia Vaughn and Cappie Pondexter were the leading scorers for New York, both of whom recorded double-doubles. Vaughn scored a season-high 24 points, shooting 12 for 14 from the field, and grabbed 12 rebounds. Pondexter ended with
23 points and a game-high 10 assists in the victory. The 28-year-old player went 5 for 10 from free throw line and 8 for 17 from the field.
Plenette Pierson added 14 points and grabbed four rebounds while Essence Carson posted 12 points, four assists and four rebounds in Liberty’s third victory of season. Nicole Powell also had 10 points and six rebounds.
Rookie Liz Cambage led Tulsa with 22 points, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks off the bench. Kayla Pederson racked up 18 points, four rebounds and three assists while Ivory Latta and Tiffany Jackson added 13 and 12 points,
respectively, in the second consecutive defeat for Tulsa.
New York took a 10-5 lead early in the first quarter and widened it to 24-14 at the end of the quarter. Kia Vaughn scored half of her game-high 24 points in the first half as Liberty stretched their lead to 14 points, 46-32, at
halftime. Tulsa fought hard in the third quarter and outscored New York 31-24 to cut their first half deficit to seven, 70-63, heading into the fourth.
Shock continued their surge and slashed the gap to just one point, 76-75, with 04:53 to go in the fourth quarter. However, Liberty turned it on down the stretch and outplayed Tulsa 18-7 during the rest of the period to seal the
victory.
Chicago Sky 107 - Connecticut Sun 101
Five players scored in double figures as the Chicago Sky defeated Connecticut Sun 107-101 in double overtime at Allstate Arena. The victory halted the three-game winning streak of Connecticut.
Epiphanny Prince scored a team-best 25 points, adding 10 of them in second O.T., and dished six assists to lead Chicago, who limited Connecticut to just 39.8 percent shooting from the field.
Sylvia Fowles added 24 points and 12 rebounds while Tamera Young came off the bench with 20 points to snap the two-game losing streak for Sky. Michelle Snow grabbed 17 rebounds and scored 12 points while Courtney Vandersloot ended
with 14 points and 10 assists.
For Connecticut, Renee Montgomery topped all the scorers on the night with a 33 foray. Tina Charles chipped in with 22 points and 13 rebounds while Kara Lawson added punctuated 15 points in the defeat.
Young scored nine points and Fowles and Snow also added nine points apiece in the first half as Chicago carried a 38-34 lead into the locker room. Sun however outshone Sky 25-19 in the third quarter, taking a 59-57 lead into the
fourth. Fourth quarter proved to be a see-saw battle with both teams giving it their all. In the end, it all came down to the last nine seconds of the frame.
Trailing by three points, 84-81, Montgomery hit a three-pointer to knot the game at 84, sending it into O.T. In a closely contested first overtime, Connecticut again took a 92-90 lead with six seconds remaining but Fowles successfully
drove to the rim and tied the game at 92. Sun scored the first four points of the second overtime to take a four-point lead but Chicago then launched a blistering 15-5 spurt to win the game.
Tags: