Sky fight hard to beat Mystic
September 4, 2009 by Max Rottenstein
Sylvia Fowles scored 13 points in her comeback game
In a hard fought team effort, the Chicago Sky defeated the Washington Mystic 92-86 Friday night at the UIC Pavilion to keep their playoff dreams alive. Sylvia Fowles, still dealing with soreness from a sprained ankle, played for the first time after a five game absence to lead the Sky offense with 13 points shooting 4-of-5 from the field and 100% from the free-throw line.
"This was my third time on the court this week," said a smiling Fowles, referring to her attempts to get back to the action. "I tried to give it a go on Tuesday and Wednesday and it didn't work out so well." But Friday morning was different, "If you can put me in for a few minutes I'll be fine," Fowles told her coaches.
The Mystic took an early lead powered by guard Matee Ajavon's 32 points and 23 point from forward Crystal Langhorne, who shot 8-for-11 from the field. The Mystic led the Sky by as many as 9 points in the first quarter but the Sky would catch up and the score would be almost deadlocked until the fourth quarter.
The house went wild when Fowles came into the game in the second quarter and erupted with 5:24 to go in the half when she made her first layup. Of course Sylvia was not alone: Jia Perkins and Dominique Canty each had 12 points; Tamera Young had 10 points, all in the fourth quarter; and K.B. Sharp had 11 points while shooting 4-for-4 from the field.
"We did a great team effort all across the board from everybody on our team. Everybody contributed to our win," said Sky Coach Steven Key, "we needed to win and we gutted this one out."
The last 40 seconds left in the game were critical. Crystal Langhorne hit a 17 foot jump shot to give the Mystic an 85-84 lead. After a timeout Jia Perkin hit a field goal to return the lead to the Sky; this was followed by Perkins, Young and center Candace Dupree all drawing fouls and making their free-throws.
Conspicuous in such a hard fought victory was the absence of rookie guard Kristi Toliver, who was the only Sky player to remain on the bench throughout the game. When asked about this subject Coach Key stated, after a brief pause, "I didn't see the need to play her. We didn't necessarily need her tonight."
The Sky's win brings them into a tie with the Mystic for fourth place as they head to the Palace in Auburn Hills, MI to face the defending league champion Detroit Shock on Sunday.
Coach Key noted, "We need win on Sunday. If we want to control our destiny we need to win all the games."
"This was my third time on the court this week," said a smiling Fowles, referring to her attempts to get back to the action. "I tried to give it a go on Tuesday and Wednesday and it didn't work out so well." But Friday morning was different, "If you can put me in for a few minutes I'll be fine," Fowles told her coaches.
The Mystic took an early lead powered by guard Matee Ajavon's 32 points and 23 point from forward Crystal Langhorne, who shot 8-for-11 from the field. The Mystic led the Sky by as many as 9 points in the first quarter but the Sky would catch up and the score would be almost deadlocked until the fourth quarter.
The house went wild when Fowles came into the game in the second quarter and erupted with 5:24 to go in the half when she made her first layup. Of course Sylvia was not alone: Jia Perkins and Dominique Canty each had 12 points; Tamera Young had 10 points, all in the fourth quarter; and K.B. Sharp had 11 points while shooting 4-for-4 from the field.
"We did a great team effort all across the board from everybody on our team. Everybody contributed to our win," said Sky Coach Steven Key, "we needed to win and we gutted this one out."
The last 40 seconds left in the game were critical. Crystal Langhorne hit a 17 foot jump shot to give the Mystic an 85-84 lead. After a timeout Jia Perkin hit a field goal to return the lead to the Sky; this was followed by Perkins, Young and center Candace Dupree all drawing fouls and making their free-throws.
Conspicuous in such a hard fought victory was the absence of rookie guard Kristi Toliver, who was the only Sky player to remain on the bench throughout the game. When asked about this subject Coach Key stated, after a brief pause, "I didn't see the need to play her. We didn't necessarily need her tonight."
The Sky's win brings them into a tie with the Mystic for fourth place as they head to the Palace in Auburn Hills, MI to face the defending league champion Detroit Shock on Sunday.
Coach Key noted, "We need win on Sunday. If we want to control our destiny we need to win all the games."
Sky guard Dominique Canty goes for a layup through the defense of Washington Mystic's guard Nakia Sanford (#43) and forward Crystal Langhorne (#1) late in the second quarter
Under heavy defense, K.B. Sharp looks for a shooting opportunity in the third quarter
Sky guard Jia Perkins looks for a way into the lane against Mystic guard Lindsey Harding
Sky guard Tamera Young had all her 10 points in the fourth quarter
Sky forward Katie Mattera (#44) fights Mystic center Chastity Melvin and forward Crystal Langhorne for a rebound in the fourth quarter