Candace Parker scored a season-high 25 points and the Chicago Sky extended their winning streak to four games with a 91-83 win over the visiting Connecticut Sun on Wednesday afternoon.
Parker also supplied 11 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks as Chicago (14-5) increased its lead in the Eastern Conference to 1 1/2 games. Kahleah Copper had 15 points, Allie Quigley contributed 13, and Rebekah Gardner and Azura Stevens tossed in 10 apiece.
Connecticut (13-7) was led by Jonquel Jones with 24 points, 11 rebounds and five steals, while Alyssa Thomas had 23 points. Brionna Jones added 18 points off the bench.
The Sky doubled up the Sun in the opening quarter, racing to a 32-16 lead. Parker alone nearly matched Connecticut’s output, as she racked up 14 points and an assist. The Sky finished the quarter on a 10-2 run, capped by a Julie Allemand three-point play in the final second.
A personal seven-point run by Stevens increased the Sky’s advantage to 39-18 with 7:20 left in the second quarter.
Parker recorded the 1,500th assist of her career late in the half, shoveling the ball to Copper on the fast break to give the Sky a 53-33 lead. Courtney Vandersloot added a couple of free throws before it ended to make it 55-33 at halftime.
Connecticut’s defense perked up in the third quarter, but the Sun couldn’t make much headway into Chicago’s big advantage until the last four minutes of the quarter. The Sun were down 66-43 when they suddenly reeled off 12 unanswered points. Courtney Williams scored the first four of those points and Natisha Hiedeman completed the run with a layup.
Parker knocked down a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to make it 71-55. She hit a pullup jumper with 6:50 left for a 78-59 lead.
Connecticut didn’t go quietly and when Thomas made a bank shot with 3:13 left, Chicago’s advantage was reduced to 82-72. A Jonquel Jones layup made it an eight-point game, but Gardner then drained a 3-pointer to essentially put the game away.
–Field Level Media
