From: Lauren Niemiera <LNiemiera@chicagosky.net>
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 2015 at 9:56 PM
Subject: Postgame Notes: Chicago Sky 87, Washington Mystics 85
To: Lauren Niemiera <LNiemiera@chicagosky.net>
QUIGLEY GAME-WINNER LIFTS SKY OVER MYSTICS
Score by Quarter
Washington (15-10) 23 20 25 17 85
Chicago (16-11) 23 22 21 21 87
ROSEMONT- Sky guard Allie Quigley had an impressive performance on Friday night inside Allstate Arena as Chicago hosted the Washington Mystics for a pivotal Eastern Conference battle. Despite trailing 85-82 with just under thirty seconds remaining in regulation, Chicago fought back and Quigley nailed a game-winning three pointer with 2.1 seconds left to rally the Sky past the Mystics 87-85.
“We got some good looks for some players that didn’t fall earlier in the quarter, but when it counted, the confidence was there, the trust was there and we nailed it,” said Sky Head Coach and General Manager Pokey Chatman. “What won’t make the highlight is the inbounds defense [Courtney] Vandersloot had on their point guard where they couldn’t inbound it. That led to a jump ball, which was very crucial and led to a possession where we were able to seal it.”
Chicago jumped out to an early 6-0 lead hitting each of its first three field goal attempts. Washington responded with a 10-0 run of its own. The Sky’s bench contributed 10 of 23 first quarter points with Quigley and Clarissa Dos Santos adding four points apiece. After the first quarter, the score was knotted at 23.
Delle Donne took control in the second as she scored 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Courtney Vandersloot added six as the Sky took a 45-43 lead at halftime.
Quigley came alive in the second half for the Sky. She led all scorers in each of the final two quarters contributing nine points in the third and seven in the fourth. Dos Santos and Young dominated the fourth rushing to loose balls and grabbing rebounds. With 29.1 seconds remaining the Sky trailed by three, 85-82. Following a timeout, Pondexter slashed to the basket to cut the lead to just one. As soon as Washington took the ball over halfcourt, Delle Donne forced a jump ball and won the tip. Vandersloot attracted multiple defenders in the paint and dished the ball to Quigley for the game-winning three pointer as the Sky escaped with an 87-85 victory at home.
Delle Donne led all scorers in the game with 22 points and eight rebounds. Quigley finished with 20 points including 16 in the second half. Vandersloot recorded 10 assists, nine points and career-high eight rebounds.
The Sky returns to action in Washington on Sunday afternoon against the Mystics. Tip-off is set for 3:00pm CT.
Postgame Notes:
Chicago Sky 87, Washington Mystics 85
NOTES
- Allie Quigley clinched the 87-85 victory for the Sky with a three-point field goal with 2.1 seconds remaining in the game. Quigley finished with 20 points off the bench.
- Elena Delle Donne led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Delle Donne scored all 22 of her points without shooting a free throw. Prior to tonight, she averaged 7.56 free throw attempts per game.
- Courtney Vandersloot recorded a career-high eight rebounds en route to nearly logging a triple-double. Her previous record of seven rebounds was reached multiple times in her career. Vandersloot ended the game with 10 assists, nine points and eight rebounds.
- There were 18 lead changes in tonight’s game, with the largest lead being six when the Sky led 6-0 in the opening two and a half minutes in the first quarter. Chicago leads the 2015 season versus Washington 3-1.
- The Sky dominated under the basket, outrebounding the Mystics 45-27 and scoring 44 points in the paint compared to Washington’s 32.
- Chicago contained Washington below its average from beyond the arc, only allowing the Mystics to make 3-of-17 (.176) from the three-point line. The Mystics’ three-point average is 35.7% on the season.
- Washington kept the WNBA’s best free throw shooter, Elena Delle Donne (.958) off of the free throw line tonight. This was only the second time Delle Donne was limited to zero free throw attempts in a game this season.
- Emma Meesseman paced the Mystics with 20 points. Tonight was her fifth game of the season with 20 or more points.
- Three Mystics players scored in double figures: Emma Meesseman (20), Stefanie Dolson (14) and Kara Lawson (13).
- Tierra Ruffin-Pratt tied both her season and career-high of six assists, five of which were recorded in the second quarter.
QUOTES
Chicago Sky Head Coach and General Manager Pokey Chatman
(Opening statement…)
“Throughout the game the area that was most consistent was our ability to rebound the basketball. We created opportunities for them to miss and translated that into good transition offense. The biggest thing for me is seeing a team that’s growing up, trusting each other and trusting the pass. Also, looking at Allie Quigley, we got some good looks for some players that didn’t fall earlier in the quarter, but when it counted, the confidence was there, the trust was there and we nailed it.”
(On intensity…)
“It’s that time of year. What won’t make the highlight is the inbounds defense [Courtney] Vandersloot had on their point guard where they couldn’t inbound it. That led to a jump ball, which was very crucial and led to a possession where we were able to seal it. These players are going to guard each other, so it comes down to who is going to secure the loose ball, who is going to secure the rebound, who is going to keep attacking. It gives us the momentum. It’s positive having [Clarissa] Dos Santos on the floor able to run full playbook and create space. Clarissa is a bull; she’ll create havoc and make things happen.”
(On Allie Quigley…)
“Allie [Quigley] has a shooter’s mentality. You won’t know if she’s missed 5 or made 5. That’s the trust she has put into her game. She’s not just a catch and shoot player. She can attack the basket and create. There were a couple of times we had crucial turnovers, but I told them in the locker room that I couldn’t tell from their body language because they shook it off and went to the next play which allowed us to stay in the game and win the game.”
Chicago Sky Guard Allie Quigley
(On the last second shot…)
“I was just trying to move to an opening. Cappie [Pondexter] got in there, she probed, kicked it to [Courtney Vandersloot], [Courtney Vandersloot] probed, and I just kept trying to move to make the defense have to work harder. I’m just happy that we won.”
Chicago Sky Guard Cappie Pondexter
(On strengths of the team…)
“We have a lot of versatility; a lot of different combinations and array of different players that can provide that for us. Right now our weakness is defense. We can become better with our matchups. We know if we want to win a title that’s just something we’ll have to do. Know your personnel, play hard, play smart and play together.”
(On the play of Courtney Vandersloot…)
“Wow. She’s our general. She’s everything. We look to her to provide the offense. She’s the charger and she’s just tough. I didn’t realize she almost had a triple double and it speaks to her demeanor. We just have to continue to motivate her because she is a value to this team.”
Washington Mystics Head Coach Mike Thibault
(On the team’s ball movement and 26 assists…)
“That’s pretty normal for us, we move the ball pretty well. But we didn’t win.”
(On improvements before Sunday against Chicago…)
“I’d like to have back some of the layups we missed. There were some loose balls that either turned into ones they [Chicago] got or became jump balls. We had a chance to seal the game when we were inbounding the ball on the other side and didn’t get it in. The ball went loose and they forced another jump ball. There were four or five jump ball situations tonight that really hurt us.”
(On having Kara Lawson back on the court…)
“It’s made a big difference. With the lineup of her in the starting lineup we were 7-0 before tonight. She gives us poise on the court and balances our team. Ivory [Latta] gives us energy and scoring coming off the bench, and it balances out our team.”
Washington Mystics Guard Kara Lawson
(On her performance tonight…)
“It was not very good. At the end I had a costly turnover when we had the basketball with the lead. It gave them [Chicago] an opportunity to hit the winning shot. I had a good look at the end of the game to win and missed that. At the end of the game you have to be the team that makes the most plays, and I wasn’t able to do that for our team.”
(On her leadership role…)
“I think we have a young team but also a group of veterans, Kia [Vaughn], Ivory [Latta] and myself who have been in the league for a while. It’s more just using your experience to help them, teaching them about the different ways that we’re going to play: the schemes and the players we’re against. I’ve been with Mike [Thibault] awhile so I understand his schemes and can help the team with that. Your actions and how you conduct yourself is the strongest influence on younger players.”
Washington Mystics Forward Emma Meesseman
(On overall thoughts of the game…)
“It’s up and down. We sometimes did a good job on execution, but a few moments later we let it go again. It’s the boards that kill us. They get too many offensive boards. We have them again on Sunday so we just have to learn from this.”
(On leading her team in scoring…)
“Good execution and offense led to it. We all attack the basket, help and then teammates get open. Moving the ball is how I get open.”
wrestlerdave 