Angel Reese produced 24 points and 12 rebounds and Chennedy Carter added 15 points, nine boards and seven assists as the host Chicago Sky defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 92-78 on Friday to stop a seven-game losing streak.
Reese paced the Sky with her WNBA-best 26th double-double of the season while extending her all-time league single-season rebounding record.
Chicago (12-22) remained tied with the Atlanta Dream for the league’s eighth and final playoff spot with six regular-season games remaining.
The Dream defeated visiting Dallas earlier Friday. Atlanta is set to host Chicago on Sept. 17.
Los Angeles (7-27) fell for the 10th time in 11 games. Dearica Hamby led the Sparks with 21 points while Rickea Jackson had 17.
Azura Stevens contributed nine points and nine rebounds for Los Angeles. Odyssey Sims dished six assists.
Back in the lineup after missing the past four games while in the league’s health and safety protocol, Carter helped facilitate a balanced attack that set fell one point short of the Sky’s season high for points.
Kamilla Cardoso (12 points), Diamond DeShields (10) and Michaela Onyenwere (10) also finished in double figures for Chicago, which led by as many as 18 points. Cardoso added nine rebounds as the Sky enjoyed a 35-26 edge on the glass.
Chicago trailed by one point after a sluggish first quarter but built momentum in the second, outscoring Los Angeles 29-22 on the way to a 48-42 halftime lead.
Jackson led all scorers with 15 points at the break while Carter and Rachel Banham paced the Sky with nine apiece.
The Sky shot 54.3 percent in the first half compared to 43.8 percent for the Sparks, who went just 2-for-9 from long range in the first 20 minutes.
Overall, Chicago outshot Los Angeles 51.4 percent to 43.9 percent from the field. The Sparks hit 5 of 20 from beyond the arc, and the Sky went 7 of 16.
Chicago swept the season series from Los Angeles 3-0, winning by 10, four and 14 points.
–Field Level Media
