CHICAGO — – Breanna Stewart scored 24 points, Rebekah Gardner had 15 and Emma Messemann added 14 as the New York Liberty beat the Chicago Sky 91-86 on Thursday night.<\/p>\n
The Liberty (27-17) start the postseason on the road against the No. 4 seed Phoenix Mercury on Sunday. New York is the fifth seed after closing the regular season on a three-game winning streak.<\/p>\n
Chicago (10-34) lost 13 of its final 15 games to end the season.<\/p>\n
Sabrina Ionescu had 11 points, 11 assists and five rebounds for New York. She became the first player in franchise history to record 11 assists without a turnover. Ionescu also had her third consecutive game with nine or more assists, tying a career high.<\/p>\n
Sky rookie Maddy Westbeld scored a career-high 25 points – 13 in the fourth quarter. Kamilla Cardoso added 21 points, and Rachel Banham had 13 points and 10 assists. Angel Reese (back) did not play.<\/p>\n
Stewart put New York ahead 72-56 with 2:43 remaining in the third quarter. She did not play in the fourth quarter, finishing 9 for 14 from the field with six rebounds and three assists.<\/p>\n
Westbeld scored eight points in the final 1:43 of the fourth. Her 3-pointer pulled Chicago to 88-81. But Marine Johannes made a 3-pointer for New York with 39.5 seconds left for a 10-point lead.<\/p>\n
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