MINNEAPOLIS — Fourth-quarter pressure has produced some of the Sky’s best basketball moments this year.
Coming into Wednesday’s game, they were second in the league in fourth-quarter points behind the Connecticut Sun. In their last meeting against the Minnesota Lynx, Courtney Vandersloot hit a buzzer-beating three.
After erasing an 11-point deficit, trailing by three with five seconds to play the Sky had a chance to send the game to overtime. The perfectly executed inbounds play gave Allie Quigley an open look from the top of the key, but her attempt was no good.
The Sky’s five-game win streak ended with a 81-78 loss to the Lynx.
“It was a great play, a great screen,” Quigley said. “Just [have to] make it next time.”
Candace Parker and Sylvia Fowles have been playing against each other since they were in high school. Wednesday was possibly their last time meeting on the court as Fowles is set to retire at the end of the year.
Late in the fourth, the two hall of famers exchanged baskets, first from Fowles who after being fouled by Parker made two free-throws giving her team a four-point lead. Parker answered the next play down the floor with a three, cutting the Lynx lead to one point.
Ahead of Wednesday’s noon game, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said it would be clear who the early risers are on both teams. Her team, coming off a 31-point win over the Las Vegas Aces, found their rhythm early. Aerial Powers had a double-double with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds. Fowles added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Lynx.
Meanwhile, the Sky struggled to establish their inside game and were held far below their league-leading shooting averages. They finished the game shooting 39.7% and 30.3% from behind the arc. They had seven free-throw attempts to the Lynx 20.
Reeve said it would be a priority for her team to take away the Sky’s inside game and they succeeded, holding them to 28 points in the paint. Wade’s team averages a league-high 40.3 inside points per game.
“Credit to their defense,” Kahleah Copper said.
Copper led the Sky with 20 points, five assists and two rebounds. Quigley added 18 points and Candace Parker had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Over the course of their five-game win streak that contributed to Wade earning coach of the month for a 10-2 run in June, the Sky have played their best basketball of the season. Still, they are eighth in the league in turnovers per game (15.2). Wednesday night when they lacked energy the 16 points they gave up off of 15 turnovers was too much to overcome.
“Some of the turnovers we accept because of how we play, our pace,” Copper said. “Those live-ball turnovers and having consecutive turnovers that killed us.”
The Sky currently sit atop the league standings tied with the Las Vegas Aces.
On July 26 the Sky and Aces will meet in the Commissioners Cup championship and the host will be determined by the team with the highest win percentage through July 7. The Sky have one more opportunity to earn a higher win percentage than the Aces, playing the Indiana Fever tomorrow.
