Sky vs Stars Preview 7/19

Sat, Jul 18, 2015, 4:43 PM

The Chicago Sky has a 5-1 record in the 2015 regular season thus far in Allstate Arena. They are strong and cohesive when playing at home, which they will look to carry over this Sunday against the San Antonio Stars.

The Stars (4-11) rank 4th in the Western Conference with a recent win against the Tulsa Shock. The last contest against the Stars on June 20th ended in a 95-87 Sky victory. Elena Delle Donne led all scorers with 28 points and 13 rebounds, ending her second straight double-double. She would continue on to finish two more consecutive games with double-doubles on June 24 vs. the Atlanta Dream and June 26 at Indiana Fever. Delle Donne also completed her 1,000th point, against the Stars to make her the quickest in franchise history and third fastest in WNBA history to reach this feat behind Cynthia Cooper (45 games) and Seimone Augustus (46 games) to reach 1,000 points.

In the third quarter of the game, Cappie Pondexter helped the Sky pull away with the biggest margin of the night with 16 points (69-53) and 1:29 remained in the third quarter. Delle Donne and Pondexter combined for 52 of the 95 points for the overtime win against the Stars. This was the beginning of their dynamic force and a testament to what the season would look like up until this point.

The Sky is entering this upcoming game with a loss against the Western Conference leading Minnesota Lynx. The Sky started off strong and kept the score relatively even until the third quarter. The Sky, after going on a 6-0 run to regain the lead in the third quarter (46-43), hit a wall. The Lynx scored 18 unanswered points to extend a 15-point lead of 46-61. The Sky unfortunately could not regain the lead after such a threatening deficit with the help of Maya Moore, who scored a game-high 29 points.

“It’s definitely frustrating when you feel like you’re getting the looks that you want and just not able to knock them down – especially when they’re going on runs – that’s when you need to be able to hit certain shots to get yourself going again. In the end, we can’t let our offense dictate our defense, and it did,” Delle Donne said on Chicago’s shooting.

Despite the tough loss, Jessica Breland had her best game of the 2015 season scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Breland had her first double-double of the season along with a season high of field goals attempted (14) and field goals made (7).

The Sky is looking to snatch the victory against the Stars once again tomorrow with tip-off at 5 p.m. CT at Allstate Arena. Come join the fun by calling 866.SKY.WNBA to purchase tickets!