• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Sky topple Liberty

Aug 29, 2009 - 6:14 AM CHICAGO(AP) -- Candace Dupree had 26 points and six rebounds and Kristi Toliver had 25 points and three rebounds to lead the Chicago Sky to a 96-77 win against New York Liberty on Friday night.

The Sky (14-15) pulled away in the fourth quarter to snap their three-game losing streak and Liberty's (11-17) two-game winning streak.

"I try to do what I can when I'm out there," Toliver said. "I just try to take advantage of the opportunities I'm given."

Tiffany Jackson led New York with 16 points. Kia Vaughn had 13 points and nine rebounds. The Liberty had five scorers in double figures.

Chicago struggled a bit to start the second half and New York took advantage, going on a nine-point run. The Liberty got within two points in the third quarter. But Sky held strong, entering the final quarter with a 75-64 lead. Toliver was strong in the third quarter with 13 points.

"We all know Kristi is a shooter," Sky coach and general manager Steven Key said. "She was key for us tonight."

"We had a good run in the third quarter," Liberty coach Anne Donovan said. "Then Toliver came in. While she did a great job in the first half, in the second half she really hurt us."

Dupree reached the 2,000-point milestone and Jia Perkins hit 1,800-point mark in the game. Perkins finished with 19 points.

Chicago took the lead early and maintained it for the majority of the game. The Sky had a five-point lead heading into the second quarter.

A 3-pointer by Toliver before the end of the first half kept the momentum with the Sky.

New York's Essence Carson made two free throws, cutting the lead to six points. But Sky answered with two free throws to take an eight-point lead into the half.