Sky’s late foul hands Liberty their 2nd win
Layshia Clarendon was fouled on a drive in the lane with 0.3 seconds left and made both free throws as the Liberty beat the Sky 101-99 on Tuesday for their second win of the season in the WNBA bubble in Bradenton, Florida.
The Liberty (2-12) had lost seven consecutive games, with their last victory coming Aug. 7 against the defending champion Mystics. They trailed the Sky 40-25 in the second quarter, but in the final 3:54 of the period, the Liberty outscored the Sky 16-3.
Amanda Zahui B led the Liberty with 22 points and 12 rebounds. Clarendon finished with 17 points and five assists, and Kiah Stokes and Jocelyn Willoughby each scored 14 points for the Liberty, who shot 14-for-30 from three-point range.
“They just wanted it more,” Sky coach James Wade said. “There’s nothing I can say. We gave them confidence, and they were able to make shots and we weren’t in place. And now you have a team that’s down and you have another team that’s happy in their locker room. But this is what you get when you don’t do what you’re supposed to do.”
Allie Quigley scored 29 points on 9-for-22 shooting for the Sky (10-5), which had a fourgame winning streak snapped. Kahleah Copper and Courtney Vandersloot each scored 15 points, and Vandersloot had nine assists.
“We made too many mistakes [in the second half], and they were just too comfortable,” Quigley said. “They had too many wide-open threes in the first half. I think they just used that confidence and brought it into the second half. We didn’t apply enough pressure on defense.”
Quigley tied her career high in points with a three-pointer to pull the Sky within 97-94 with 1:36 remaining. Stefanie Dolson tied it at 99 with 20 seconds left on another threepointer. The Sky finished 10-for-25 from that distance.
The Liberty’s 101 points marked a season high. Their previous high was 85 on Aug. 20, also against the Sky.