Kamilla Cardoso scored 22 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished five assists as the Chicago Sky upset the host New York Liberty 91-85 on Thursday to end a five-game losing streak.
The Sky outshot the Liberty 50 percent to 41.7 percent. Chicago outrebounded New York 42-27, and the visitors had a 52-26 advantage on points in the paint.
Angel Reese, in just her second game since returning from a back injury, added 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Sky. Ariel Atkins put up 19 points, and Michaela Onyenwere had 13 points.
Chicago (9-26) had lost 13 of its previous 14 contests.
Jonquel Jones led New York with a game-high 25 points thanks in part to 5-of-11 shooting from 3-point range. Sabrina Ionescu scored 16 points, but she went 0-for-5 from beyond the arc. Natasha Cloud had 14 points.
The Liberty — the reigning WNBA champions — fell to 14-5 at home and 22-14 overall.
Chicago improved to 1-2 against New York this season and 4-13 on the road.
The Liberty were again without seven-time All-Star forward Breanna Stewart, who has been idle since she sustained a bone bruise on her right knee July 26. She has promised to return prior to her 31st birthday on Wednesday.
In the final period, the score remained tight until Chicago scored the game’s final eight points. An Atkins free throw with 1:35 left snapped an 85-85 tie. The only points in the final 95 seconds were three free throws each by Atkins and Reese.
New York, in the final two minutes, went 0-for-4 from the floor and also had a turnover.
New York led 23-22 after the first quarter after Marine Johannes sank two 3-pointers in the final 67 seconds.
The Liberty finished the second quarter strong as well. This time, it was Cloud who made a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to give New York a 46-44 edge at halftime.
New York led 68-65 entering the fourth, making it three straight quarters during which the Liberty outscored the Sky by one point before Chicago outscored New York 26-17 in the fourth quarter.
–Field Level Media
