Sky focus on playoffs to chill the Fever
September 10, 2009 by Max Rottenstein
The Chicago Sky kept their playoff hopes alive as they beat the Indiana Fever 86-79 before a crowd of 2,902 at the UIC Pavilion. The Sky overcame any early deficit, trailing by as many as 10 points. One minute into the 2nd quarter and down 12-22, Sky Coach Steven Key subbed out Shyra Ely and put in Kristi Toliver.
The crowd cheered when Toliver came in and it went wild 10 seconds later when she sank a 21 foot three-pointer as if on autopilot. "It's a lot of fun," said Toliver about being on the floor and in the zone, "It is a feeling that unfortunately I missed a lot of this season." KT had 19 points; shooting-wise she was 5-of-8 from the field, 3-for-3 behind the three-point line, and an amazing 6-for-6 on free-throws.
The crowd cheered when Toliver came in and it went wild 10 seconds later when she sank a 21 foot three-pointer as if on autopilot. "It's a lot of fun," said Toliver about being on the floor and in the zone, "It is a feeling that unfortunately I missed a lot of this season." KT had 19 points; shooting-wise she was 5-of-8 from the field, 3-for-3 behind the three-point line, and an amazing 6-for-6 on free-throws.
Sky center Sylvia Fowles goes for a loose ball in the first quarter
Sky center Sylvia Fowles also had a strong showing with 9 points in her third game game back from an ankle injury. "It felt pretty good for the most part," said Fowles.
Speaking on what tonight's victory meant to the team having played Indiana three times before, "They always seem to outhustle us during the last few minutes. Tonight we told ourselves we can stop them and put it to an end, everybody stayed focused and we did it as a team."
Speaking on what tonight's victory meant to the team having played Indiana three times before, "They always seem to outhustle us during the last few minutes. Tonight we told ourselves we can stop them and put it to an end, everybody stayed focused and we did it as a team."
Sky center Candace Dupree goes for a breakaway layup in the third quarter
The Fever fought back to a tie once before the half, but the Sky were able to maintain their focus on offense and defense to control the lead throughout the rest of the game.
Also making a big contribution was recently re-signed starting forward Mistie Bass who added 15 points and shot 7-of-8 from the field. "We knew this game was really important," said Bass, and when asked about how the team will have to play in the last game against Detroit she said, "we have to dominate the boards, the transition defense, and limit the turnovers that have killed us in the past. If we focus, we can come out with the win."
Also making a big contribution was recently re-signed starting forward Mistie Bass who added 15 points and shot 7-of-8 from the field. "We knew this game was really important," said Bass, and when asked about how the team will have to play in the last game against Detroit she said, "we have to dominate the boards, the transition defense, and limit the turnovers that have killed us in the past. If we focus, we can come out with the win."
Kristi Toliver hits her first three-pointer 10 seconds after coming into the second quarter while being guarded by Briann January.
Looking forward to the playoffs
Tonight's win breaks Chicago's tie with the Mystics and Sun to put them firmly into fourth place with a record of 16-17. The Detroit Shock beat the New York Liberty 94-87, going 17-16 holding on to their third place berth as they come to the UIC Pavilion this Saturday.
The biggest wildcard will most likely be Washington who still have two games left to play this weekend and a chance to add two more games to their win column. If they do win both games, and the Sky win against the Shock, the two teams will be tied for the fourth place berth in which case the determination of a winner will come down to statistics.
The biggest wildcard will most likely be Washington who still have two games left to play this weekend and a chance to add two more games to their win column. If they do win both games, and the Sky win against the Shock, the two teams will be tied for the fourth place berth in which case the determination of a winner will come down to statistics.
Sky forward Mistie Bass shoots her sole layup in the first quarter