CHICAGO — Courtney Williams put on an offensive clinic Friday night, and the Chicago Sky's playoff hopes got a whole lot brighter because of it.
Williams dropped 22 points in the first half, going 5-of-7 from three-point range and 8-of-12 from the field — 75 percent shooting — as Chicago took a 58-43 lead over the New York Liberty. She added four assists and three rebounds. That is an all-around performance that demands attention.
The exclamation point came with 2.1 seconds left in the second quarter: Williams closed out a personal 10-2 run with a deep step-back three-pointer to send Chicago into the locker room firmly in control.
The Sky entered Friday at 12-10, fighting for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. A win over a top-tier Liberty squad does real work for that case. Chicago needs Williams playing like this — dictating pace, creating her own shot, making the defense account for her at all times — if it wants a deep playoff run through a tough July schedule.
Now here is the business angle worth watching: Williams, 29, is in the final year of a two-year, $400,000 contract. A performance like Friday's first half does not just win games — it wins leverage. She has shown she can take over a game against elite competition in a moment that matters. That is exactly what a free-agent market pays for.
