Sky suffer tough OT loss to Liberty

Presents aren't typically exchanged for Fourth of July.

But if they were, the Chicago Sky would have the New York Liberty covered with an early gift, one that had Sky players seeing more red than white and blue.

"It's hard, it hurts, it's one that you felt that you kind of gave away," said Sky point guard Courtney Vandersloot, summing up New York's 97-94 overtime victory over the Sky Sunday afternoon at Wintrust Arena.

The Sky was up by as many as 6 points with about 4 minutes left in regulation, and up by 1 point with about 30 seconds left in overtime. But in neither case could the Sky put away New York, a team that had lost its previous five games.

The Sky (6-10), ultimately had its 3-game winning streak snapped.

"We have to learn from this, but this happens in this league," Vandersloot said. "Teams are good, players are great and they're going to make incredible plays, like Allie (Quigley) did to keep us in the game. We just have to learn from this and bounce back."

Quigley, who tied New York's Tina Charles for game-high scoring honors with 28 points, hit a gutsy 24-foot bank shot 3-pointer with just under a minute to play in overtime that cut the Sky's deficit to just 1 point.

Vandersloot then hit a couple of free throws to put the Sky up by 1 point with 34.3 seconds remaining.

But after a Sky turnover, Charles, the go-to player down the stretch for the Liberty, again took command of the paint and powered her way inside for the winning basket.

"They were able to get it down low a little too easy," Quigley said. "We needed to have a little more of a sense of urgency, even though we had won three in a row."

Both the Sky and the Liberty (5-11) each placed five players in double-figures in the high-scoring affair. Vandersloot had 20 points and was especially proficient from 3-point range, hitting 4-of-6 shots from behind the arc.

Cheyenne Parker added 13 points off the bench for the Sky while rookie Diamond DeShields had 12 points and center Stefanie Dolson had 10 points.

A difference maker for New York was Brittnay Boyd, who missed last season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. She came off the bench and scored 14 points for the Liberty.

Shavonte Zellous and Kia Vaughn each added 12 points for New York while Bria Hartley had 10 points. Former Sky star Epiphanny Prince finished with 8 points for the Liberty.