Big night for Snow, Fowles

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Updated: June 18, 2011 2:07AM

Sky coach Pokey Chatman said before the season that centers
Michelle Snow and Sylvia Fowles would be in the lineup together as long as they were effective.

But not even Chatman could
have imagined they would be this
effective.

Snow and Fowles combined for 40 points and 18 rebounds as the Sky earned its third straight victory by defeating the New York Liberty
85-73 before a crowd of 5,718 on Friday night at Allstate Arena.

The Liberty (2-3) frustrated the Sky’s bigs in the first half with physical play. Fowles was especially upset late in the second quarter after a long battle with Kia Vaughn. After she lost a potential offensive rebound off her fingertips and out of bounds, Fowles walked over to Chatman, yelling and flailing her arms.

But in the second half, Fowles and Snow looked like completely different players. They combined for 18 of the team’s 32 points in the third quarter as the Sky (3-1) turned a five-point deficit into a 14-point lead.

Snow (13 points, seven rebounds) dominated the Liberty with mid-range jumpers in the pick-and-roll game while Fowles (27 points, 11 boards) routinely got good post position and owned the paint. During one stretch in the third, Snow and Fowles scored 16 consecutive Sky points.

‘‘They stayed true to the game plan, even when they didn’t get touches initially,’’ Chatman said. ‘‘There was one time when [Fowles] wanted to put her head down and stomp her feet, but you’ve got to jerk her back to reality.

‘‘That probably won’t happen
every night. But if it does, I’m going to be a happy coach.’’

The Sky scored 54 points and
shot 61 percent (17-for-28) in the second half.

Guard Cappie Pondexter led the Liberty with 20 points, but she was just 4-for-16 from the field. The Sky had never beaten Pondexter before Friday, entering the game 0-12 against the former Rutgers star.

‘‘If you have to work that hard on offense, maybe we can steal something on our offensive end,’’ Chatman said. ‘‘Cappie’s a great player. She’s tough to stop.’’

Epiphanny Prince added 17 points and eight assists for the Sky, and Cathrine Kraayeveld chipped in with nine points and seven boards.