Sky put on offensive show in win over Liberty
The Chicago Sky might not have the best record in the WNBA.
But it might just have the best offense.
"When we take care of the ball, we can be the best offensive team," Sky point guard Courtney Vandersloot said. "That's kind of been our thing."
It was definitely the Sky's thing on Friday night.
The Sky put on an offensive show, blowing by the visiting New York Liberty 99-83 at Wintrust Arena while shooting 54 percent, rolling up 30 assists on 38 made baskets, and turning the ball over only 12 times.
Vandersloot, a strong candidate to be named a reserve for the upcoming WNBA all-star game, was Ms. Efficient herself. She scored 17 points on 5-of-7 field goals and she nailed 6-of-7 free throws. She also rolled up 12 assists to just 2 turnovers.
"We've seen it over and over, when we do take care of (the ball), we score at a really high rate," said Vandersloot, who leads the WNBA in assists with more than 8 per game. "We have so many threats. We're going to continue to work on that, and we're going to be putting up (points) in the 90s every time. I really believe that."
The Sky, which pulled to 8-8 after suffering a 1-point loss in the final seconds on Wednesday to Minnesota, made its move in the second quarter. With the score tied about halfway through the period, the Sky went on a relentless scoring binge that yielded a 20-point lead (55-35) at the halftime break.
"We came out and showed what we could really do from the tip and that hasn't always been the case lately," Vandersloot said.
The Sky got double-figures from all five starters.
Forward Jantel Lavender shared team-high scoring honors with Vandersloot with 17 points, to go along with 7 rebounds. Forward Diamond DeShields added 16 points while Allie Quigley had 14 points on 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range and center Stefanie Dolson had 13 points and a team-high 9 rebounds.
Three reserves who had been either injured or out found their way back into the rotation and all 12 players on the roster got minutes.
Backup point guard Jamierra Faulkner, who has battled back-to-back knee injuries, got her first action since July of last year. She had 2 points and an assist in nearly 7 minutes.
Rookie Katie Lou Samuelson played nearly 7 minutes after missing several weeks with a broken wrist.
And center Astou Ndour played 12 minutes after missing time for Eurobasket obligations in Spain.
Rookie Chloe Jackson also checked into the game.
"I got the chills when Jamierra went in, same with Katie Lou and Astou. And we weren't having to do 8-man layup lines (during warmups)," Vandersloot laughed. "Having a full roster is big for us, for multiple reasons."
For New York (7-9), Kia Nurse, voted an all-star starter, led the way with 18 points. Tina Charles and Bria Hartley each scored 13 points and reserve Marine Johannes added 10 points.