Nicole Powell’s goal gives Monarchs 54-52 win

CHICAGO (AP) — 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 (8-3) won its third straight and sixth in seven games.

Candice Dupree had 21 points and career-high 14 rebounds for the Sky (6-6), which had won consecutive games. Armintie Price added 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 laid in the ball 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.

Monarchs tie score

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.