Liberty upend Sky 64-59

Cappie Pondexter scored a team-high 19 points, including a pair of key late free throws, and New York held off a late Sky comeback for a 64-59 victory on Friday night.

The win was the second straight for the Liberty (6-9) and first in two tries over Chicago.

The Sky (8-6) trailed 61-59 following Sylvia Fowles' bank shot with 1:23 left, but missed a chance to tie on a turnover with 48 seconds to play.

Pondexter, fouled on an inbound pass with 19.3 seconds left, hit two free throws to open a four-point Liberty lead.

Teammate Essence Carson had 14 points and 11 rebounds, Leilani Mitchell had 12 points and Kara Braxton added 11. Fowles paced Chicago with 20 points while Tamera Young added 16.

Pondexter had seven first-quarter points — including a 3-point play with 11.3 seconds left — as New York opened an 18-14 lead. Chicago hit just 3 of 11 free throws and went 5 for 14 from the field.

Braxton had seven points in the second quarter and closed the half with 11 as the Liberty led 38-31.

Earlier, the Sky briefly closed the gap to 33-29 on a Courtney Vandersloot jumper with 1:33 left. Fowles had nine points at half for Chicago.

Carson's layup gave New York a 42-33 lead early in the third. But Chicago chipped away and trailed 48-46 after Young's putback with 2:42 left.

Back-to-back Pondexter baskets restored a six-point Liberty lead and Carson hit a buzzer-beater for a 54-46 lead.

Young scored seven points in the first 4:30 in an 11-0 Sky run that gave the hosts a 57-54 lead — their first since the opening quarter. The Liberty answered with seven straight points to reclaim the advantage.

The Sky have lost five of their past six after starting the season at 7-1.

Chicago travels to Indiana on Saturday while New York is home on Sunday against San Antonio.