Courtney Vandersloot scored 18 points, Candace Parker grabbed 11 rebounds and the Chicago Sky beat the short-handed Phoenix Mercury 73-70 on Tuesday night at Wintrust Arena in a WNBA Finals rematch.
Mercury star Diana Taurasi was ejected with 3:43 left in the second quarter for arguing a no-call with an official. The Mercury were trailing 31-21 at the time but rallied in the third quarter by scoring 31 points and shooting 72% from the field.
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Vandersloot made 1 of 2 free throws with nine seconds left in the fourth quarter for a 72-70 lead, and she knocked the ball away from Skylar Diggins-Smith on a drive at the other end. Rebekah Gardner also went 1 for 2 at the line for a three-point lead, and former Sky player Diamond DeShields didn’t hit the rim on a corner 3-pointer as time expired.
Kahleah Copper added 11 points and Emma Meesseman and Gardner each scored 10 for the Sky (5-3). Parker was 2 of 9 from the field as both teams shot under 42%.
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Tina Charles scored 25 points for the Mercury (2-7). Diggins-Smith had 12 points and eight assists and DeShields added 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Sky jumped out to a 20-10 first-quarter lead after holding the Mercury to 4-of-20 shooting. Charles had six of the Mercury’s 10 points.