WNBA: Monarch reign over Sky with late basket

CHICAGO – Kara Lawson scored 19 points and Nicole Powell added 16, including the winning basket with 4.7 seconds left, to lead the Sacramento Monarchs to a 54-52 victory over the Chicago Sky on Tuesday night.

Sacramento won its third straight and sixth in seven games.

Candice Dupree had 21 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for the Sky, who had won consecutive games. Armintie Price chipped in with 10 points for Chicago.

Powell received a pass from Lawson at the top of the key and, with Price guarding her, drove to the basket and made a layup with less than 5 seconds remaining. Chicago’s inbound pass to Dupree went off her hands and Lawson corralled the ball as time ran out.

Dupree made consecutive layups to put Chicago up 52-48 with 3:53 left. The Monarchs tied the score 1 1/2 minutes later on a pair of free throws from Chelsea Newton and a jumper by Rebekkah Brunson.

The Sky used a 10-2 run to take a 39-37 third-quarter lead, but five straight points from Lawson gave Sacramento a 42-39 lead with 1:06 left in the period.

Powell hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Monarchs a 30-29 halftime lead.

After Sacramento scored the first six points of the second quarter, the Sky responded with a 13-2 run. Dupree had seven points during the run and capped it with a pair of free throws to give Chicago a 29-25 lead with 1:43 left in the first half.