It's Death, Not Liberty, For Chicago Sky Vs. New York in WNBA

Rosemont, IL (July 23, 2010) When the great patriot Patrick Henry said, "Give me liberty or give me death," he had no way of visualizing a women's pro basketball team named Liberty, or the death they would inflict on another women's hoop team, the Chicago Sky, but in the WNBA there are a couple of teams Chicago just can't master and the New York Liberty is one. 

You could sum up Chicago's performance at home in the Allstate Arena tonight as one large step backwards after making several steps forward. After a streaky first half of their fifth season in the league, they were beginning to find their groove. After losing four, winning four, losing four, they had won 7 of their last eleven, had clawed their way back to a .500 record, and had an opportunity to take a numerical and psychological advantage over another .500 team in the fight for a playoff berth.

Recently Chicago Head Coach Steve Key said, "Any team with a .500 record or better will make the playoffs." As his team faced New York tonight they had the opportunity to go above .500 for the first time in their history this late in the season, and to take both a real and symbolic lead over division rival New York for one of the final post-season spots.

True, there's a lot of season left, but we're at the point in the season when the serious jockeying begins and when every game takes on an increasingly urgent significance. If the Sky were to establish themselves as playoff contenders, if they were to demonstrate they have achieved the next level in their five year existence, they needed to win this game. 

And in classic Chicago style, they lost.

It was a tale of two halves for the Chicago Sky as they came out looking like the team that has won three in a row, holding New York Liberty star and Sky killer Cappie Pondexter to just six points.

With a nine point lead in the third quarter, it was looking like the Sky would be able to pull out a victory for the first time in four contests against New York. However, with some defensive adjustments and a more aggressive Pondexter, New York was able to hold onto the 79-71 victory.

The shots were falling for the Sky in first half, shooting 57 percent from the field. Sylvia Fowles led the team with nine points in the half, but had trouble getting into a rhythm in the second, finishing with 12 points and 16 boards. Epiphanny Prince once again provided bench support, finishing with 14 points. When the Sky looked to get back in the game, it was Prince taking the ball to the hoop.

Taj McWilliams-Franklin recorded 18 points for the Liberty on 8-of-11 shooting. Pondexter finished with 16. With the slow start by Pondexter, Liberty Head Coach Ann Donovan knew the rest of her team had to step up.

"I was really pleased when a team can be that focused on shutting Cappie down and everyone else stepped up,” Donovan said. “They forced her to pass the ball, so to see other people step up was exciting."

Losing this game wasn't easy. It required Chicago to lapse enough to allow New York to make not one but two scoring runs of 11-0 in the third and 10-0 in the fourth.

But it seems that the only thing Chicago can be counted on is to find a way to lose when all indications are they should win. They haven't mastered the opposite yet.

The loss drops the Sky record to 11-12, with all 12 losses coming to the Eastern Conference. With a 5-0 mark versus the West, the Sky will need to take advantage of their next seven games, six of which are against the Western Conference teams.