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.
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.
Chicago (10-34) lost 13 of its final 15 games to end the season.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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