Allie Quigley, a two-time WNBA Sixth Woman of the year, and Chicago Sky guard, hit a decisive three-pointer with a little over 10 seconds left to play in the game and ended the night with a team high of 16 points in the 71-70 victory.
Sound familiar, Chicago? It should, but this one came for Fenerbahce Istanbul, who now trail unexpected Yakin Dogu (YDU) 2-1 in a best-of-five series.
2016 WNBA Finals MVP Candace Parker and fellow Los Angeles Sparks teammate Jantel Lavender lead Fenerbahce in their chase for another championship.
Meanwhile, Yakin Dogu (YDU), whose recent success in the league has everyone a bit shell-shocked, is propelled by point guard Courtney Vandersloot of the Sky, guard Kayla McBride of the San Antonio Stars and Los Angeles Sparks defensive stopper Essence Carson.
Fenerbahce, already down 2-0, nearly saw their season ended by the outside shooting of YDU’s McBride, who had 20 points in the game and has shot 40.7 percent from deep this European season.
McBride also notably has been matched up and defended quite well against a much bigger Parker various times throughout this series, important as she returns to San Antonio to face bigger and stronger players on the defensive end this season. Parker ended this game with 7 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.
Lavender was a monster on the arc with 8 of her 12 points coming from a hand-off at the top of the key, a familiar memory for Sparks fans.
The two teams will match up again on Sunday at 12:30 EST, the day after the WNBA season tip-off. You can watch this game with this link to game stream.
It’s in the WNBA’s interest for YDU to win, ending the Turkish season and sending WNBA stars back a little earlier. But if Candace Parker has anything to say about it, it might just be a little longer than that.