KEY RUNS

• Chicago took command early with a 15-5 run spanning the first 4:24 of the first quarter

• Los Angeles cut the deficit to two, 60-58, after an 8-0 run over a stretch of two minutes in the middle of the third quarter

• The Sky closed out the final two minutes on an 11-2 run, sealing the win 91-81

KEY STATS

• Los Angeles outscored Chicago 36-32 in the paint

• The Sky outrebounded the Sparks 38-27 • Chicago held a 22-10 edge over Los Angeles in second chance points

• After shooting under 30% from the 3-point line in their previous three games, the Sky got back on track from behind the arc, shooting 42.9%

CHICAGO NOTES

• The Sky snapped the Sparks’ six-game winning streak in the all-time series, with their previous win coming on July 20, 2017

• Astou Ndour set a season high with 11 points and matched her career high in rebounds with nine

• Allie Quigley set a season high with 26 points and finished with five rebounds

• For the ninth time in 10 games, Courtney Vandersloot recorded at least eight assists, tallying nine against the Sparks along with 17 points

LA NOTES

• Nneka Ogwumike fouled out for the second time this season, finishing the game with 16 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes

• Candace Parker was held scoreless in the first half for the second time this season and finished with five points, five rebounds and four assists

• Alana Beard set a season high with 10 points and matched her season high with four assists

• After recording 26 points and six assists when the two teams last met on Sunday, Chelsea Gray was firing again, recording a team-high 25 points, five rebounds and five assists

POSTGAME QUOTES SKY GENERAL MANAGER & HEAD COACH JAMES WADE

On keeping Candace Parker in-check:

“It was a concentrated effort. We wanted to extend them up the floor, where they were catching the ball outside of the scoring area. We know once they catch the ball inside the scoring area they have a bigger advantage, so we wanted to extend our ‘deepness’ a little bit. I think it helped us tonight. She’s [Candace Parker] a great player, so you can say it was a lot of different things, but I think it was a team before anything. I think Astou [Ndour]was up for the challenge as well, but we were just helping out to make it look as crowded for her as possible.”

On Jantel Lavender and her recovery:

“The players they go over to see her every day, I was over there yesterday and I put together a scooter which was probably the highlight of my day. The players they’ve all been with her and they’ve all helped her out so it’s constant communication and she’s still a big part of the team. I think it’s a little early for her to be sitting upright for a full two hours because knowing Jantel she wouldn’t sit down she’d be hopping up and down so we thought it’s probably better that she be at home for now.”

On Astou Ndour’s contributions to the team:

“She’s long, she’s 6-5 with a 6-8 wingspan, she can space the floor. Being that long and being able to space the floor is pretty unique in today’s game and she can get her hands on balls and play above the rim, so we see that and she gives us a dimension that we need and she gives us the ability to rebound, she led us tonight with nine rebounds. She got a couple of putbacks where she was the only one up there so if you can play above everyone else it’s gonna help us out a lot that’s another thing that she can do.”

SKY CENTER ASTOU NDOUR

On taking on Parker and Ogwumike in the frontcourt:

“I [knew] I just needed to be myself because I know they’re obviously very talented and they were the focus of our plan this game.” On replacing Jantel Lavender in the starting lineup: “Just doing my best and working to rebound for the team, I know I’m not going to take the whole Jantel role because she’s so important and she was helping the team a lot. I’m gonna be myself and just help the team.”

SKY GUARD ALLIE QUIGLEY

On what the win means “big-picture”:

“It’s huge. I mean, big picture, obviously we have the playoffs in the back of our mind and we know, obviously, that we couldn’t get the tiebreaker with them, but we know right now every win is just huge. So, we are going to go game-by-game and just try to grind out wins, just to get a high seed.”

On the team’s ball movement:

“I think it was just the way we were playing, how quickly we were playing up and down. We were able to move the ball so well and just play off each other. I just felt like I was open all the time, so it was just a product of our offense just moving and the ball moving.”

On who the team’s driving force was Friday night:

“Courtney Vandersloot. She just pushes that ball and was making those lay-ups that she does. We got some stops and I think C.P. [Cheyenne Parker] had a big rebound. So a few really just key plays, just getting stops and getting those lay-ups I think.

SPARKS HEAD COACH DEREK FISHER

On the difference in the game:

“Chicago was better from the start. I thought after we got down, we started competing harder, our effort increased. To get out to a poor start like that on the road, it’s tough, especially when you’re playing against a good team.”

On how Nneka Ogwumike’s and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt’s foul trouble impacted the game:

“They’re two of our best defenders. Nneka [Ogwumike]’s our best rebounder, and offensive rebounds, particularly in the first half, was an issue for us. [The Sky] had seven or eight rebounds in the first half; they finished with 11, so we got better in the second half, because Nneka played more minutes in the second half. We have to be able to play through that. Referees are human, they’re gonna make mistakes at times. You’re not always going to agree with calls, but that means that we have to make a better effort to be in position earlier to do our jobs better to take the control away from anybody else.”

On how the Sky match up with the Sparks:

“[The Sky] adjusted from the first time we played them, and they increased their aggressiveness, picking the ball up full court, and trying to do some things to disrupt our timing offensively. They’re fast, they play with a lot of pace. It’s not an easy team to play against. I don’t think it’s anything special that they’re necessarily doing. I think it’s more us needing to find ways to mentally and physically be better to start games, and we’ll figure it out.”

On what Alana Beard brings to the team:

“Professionalism, mental toughness, physical toughness. It’s been challenging for her to stay healthy this year, but tonight she was great. In the first half she saved us from being down by more by making shots and taking the challenge defensively, so hopefully we can keep her healthy, because we feel like she’s going to be a valuable piece for us.”

SPARKS GUARD CHELSEA GRAY

On how the Sparks were able to come back in the second half:

“I think we were able to get some stops and then we converted on the offensive end. We were able to get stops so we could run in transition and get easy buckets.”

On her productive night offensively:

“Being able to get in the lane, penetrating. But we lost so it don’t matter.” On what the team needs to work on moving forward: “Consistency. Finding a way to start the game well, end quarters well and being able to sustain the lead as well.”

SPARKS CENTER CANDACE PARKER

On what have been some symptoms to their slow starts recently:

“Obviously we need to start better. I think to some extent we need to come out aggressive and that’s something we got to discuss and talk about. Early on we were giving up a lot of offensive rebounds, and we weren’t getting our shots. So when you’re constantly in transition, I think that affects it. I think myself, I need to be better rebounding and also in the offense — moving, spacing, knocking down shots. So I think that contributed a lot to the way that we started the game.”

On the feeling of constantly grinding and working to come back from deficits:

“That’s the way the WNBA is this year. Especially on the road. So we can’t come out and get down by that many points on the road.”

Related News

POSTGAME NOTES & QUOTES Powered by Chicago Sun-Times: Sky Defeat Sparks for First Time Since 2017

Post Game Notes and Quotes: Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky

Baylor Point Guard and Final Four MOP Chloe Jackson Drafted By Sky With No. 15 Overall Pick

Q&A with GM and Head Coach James Wade