The Chicago Sky suffered their fourth straight loss on Wednesday, blowing a 15-point lead en route to a one-point loss to the New York Liberty, 96-95.
Chicago got off to a hot start and found itself ahead 26-11 midway through the first quarter. Unfortunately, the Sky couldn't hold on to their lead and found themselves trailing 47-45 by the end of the first half.
Despite Gabriela Jaquez and Sydney Taylor combining for 46 points, the Sky were unable to make their final shot. After Sabrina Ionescu gave New York the lead with 10.3 seconds left, Taylor had one final shot but missed what could have been a game-winning jumper for Chicago.
One of the players that struggled the most for Chicago was Azura Stevens, who was averaging 9.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game entering the contest. Against the Liberty, she recorded just six points and six rebounds while committing a team-high four turnovers.
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Making matters worse for Stevens, she received a technical foul during the game. With a little over seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, a referee hit the Sky forward with a tech for taunting.
As a result, Stevens is now due to pay a $500 fine. It's her second technical foul of the season following her tech against the Washington Mystics on June 2.
According to the WNBA's rules, a player's first three technical fouls each carry a $500 fine. Meanwhile, the fourth through seventh technical fouls each carry a $1,000 penalty. Any technical foul beyond that will cost $1,500 and a one-game suspension.
Aside from Stevens, Skylar Diggins and Natasha Cloud also have two technical fouls each this season. Kamilla Cardoso has one. That being said, the Sky certainly need to be careful if they want to avoid having one of their key starters suspended.
