Coverage of the WNBA continues on Sunday as the Las Vegas Aces host Seattle Storm on Sky Sports Arena from 8pm
Friday 25 June 2021 08:26, UK
Kahleah Copper and Diamond DeShields each scored 18 points to lead the Chicago Sky to a comfortable 91-68 victory over the host New York Liberty on Thursday night.
The surging Sky (9-7) swept a back-to-back set with the Liberty (7-8) over the past three days by a combined 43 points, and won their seventh consecutive game, setting a new franchise record.
Chicago improved to 8-0 this season when Candace Parker has played, including 7-0 since she returned from an ankle injury.
Michaela Onyenwere led New York (7-8) with 16 points and six rebounds, but shot just 5-for-17 and couldn't prevent the Liberty from losing for the seventh time in their past nine games.
Parker recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds to go along with four assists as Chicago took control of the game in the second quarter.
Turnovers continued to be an issue for the Liberty, who committed 21 on Thursday. New York, who were without Natasha Howard (left knee) and Jocelyn Willoughby (left Achilles), is averaging 22 turnovers per game over their past three games.
Courtney Vandersloot finished with 13 points and nine assists as the Sky shot 50 per cent from the field (37-for-74) and made 9-of-19 shots from 3-point range. Vandersloot came out of the game after taking a hard screen with 5:59 left in the fourth quarter.
Betnijah Laney and Sami Whitcomb each had 14 points for New York, which struggled shooting from long distance for the second consecutive game against Chicago.
Te'a Cooper scored 26 points as the host Los Angeles Sparks cooled off the Washington Mystics 89-82 in a battle of short-handed teams Thursday night.
Amanda Zahui B. scored 17, Brittney Sykes added 14 and Karlie Samuelson 13 for the Sparks (6-7), who used just eight players because of injuries.
Leilani Mitchell scored 26, Tina Charles added 25 points and 10 rebounds, Ariel Atkins scored 12 and Theresa Plaisance 11 for the Mystics (7-7), who played seven of their eight available players and lost for the second time in seven games.
Sykes had a basket and two assists as the Sparks took a 75-69 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Mystics pulled within one point before Sykes answered with four consecutive points.
Charles converted a three-point play, but Erica Wheeler hit a 3-pointer to give L.A. an 82-77 lead with 2:22 left.
Washington got within two twice, but Cooper made one free throw and Wheeler made two for an 87-82 lead with 32.4 seconds left.
Satou Sabally's 15 points and 9 rebounds led a balanced attack as the visiting Dallas Wings rolled to an 89-64 win over the hapless Indiana Fever on Thursday in Indianapolis.
The Wings were up by 15 points after three quarters and steadily put Indiana away over the final period, pushing their advantage to as many as 28 points late in the quarter and cruising to the win. Dallas has won two of its past three games.
Marina Mabrey added 14 points for the Wings (7-8), with Allisha Gray scoring 13, Charli Collier hitting a career-high 12, and Arike Ogunbowale and Isabelle Harrison tallying 10 points each. Ogunbowale's production extended her WNBA-leading and team-record streak of scoring in double figures to 52.
Kelsey Mitchell scored 24 points, all in the second half, to lead the Fever. Jantel Lavender added 14 and Tiffany Mitchell contributed 12 for Indiana (1-15), which has lost 11 straight games dating back to May 23.
Sabally led the Wings with 15 points and 7 rebounds in the first half as Dallas ended up 16 of 32 from the floor over the first 20 minutes.
Lavender paced Indiana with 12 points at halftime. Only three players scored for the Fever in the half, with Tiffany Mitchell and Robinson adding 6 each. Indiana was just 10 of 39 (25.6 percent) from the floor in the half and 0 for 7 from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Fever caught fire in the third quarter, closing to within 50-42 thanks to 14 points by Kelsey Mitchell over the first 5:20 of the period. But Dallas weathered the storm and managed a 62-47 lead heading into the final period.
