Leila Lacan scored 17 points and Tina Charles added 15 in her return from a one-game absence, lifting the Connecticut Sun to a 71-62 victory over the Chicago Sky on Wednesday in Uncasville, Conn.
Marina Mabrey had 10 points and rookie Aneesah Morrow collected nine points and nine rebounds for the Sun (6-26), who saw their 21-point lead whittled down to four before holding on to snap a five-game losing skid. They also avenged a 78-66 setback to the Sky on June 15.
Chicago’s Kamilla Cardoso scored a game-high 24 points and tallied nine rebounds and Elizabeth Williams added 12 and 15, respectively.
Rachel Banham sank three 3-pointers to highlight her 10-point performance for the Sky (8-24), who committed 19 turnovers en route to losing for the 11th time of their last 12 games.
Chicago played without leading scorer/rebounder Angel Reese for the sixth straight game due to a back injury.
Charles, who sat out her team’s previous game for rest purposes, made a layup and rookie Saniya Rivers drained a mid-range jumper to push Connecticut’s lead to 55-34 with 4:28 remaining in the third quarter.
But in the fourth, Kia Nurse sank a 3-pointer as Chicago scored 11 straight points to trim its deficit to four points at 60-56 with 5:31 left. Charles halted the momentum with a 3-pointer and joined Rivers in converting an 18-foot jumper.
The Sky moved back within five at 67-62 with 2:32 to play, but Rivers made a free throw and Lacan added a driving layup.
Tempers flared with 6:35 remaining in the second quarter after Connecticut’s Bria Hartley pushed Chicago’s Rebecca Allen to the floor on a missed 3-point attempt. Allen responded by clutching Hartley’s jersey, a move that drew Sky teammate Ariel Atkins into the fray — although she inadvertently made contact with an official. Allen and Hartley were whistled for matching technical fouls and joined Atkins in being ejected from the contest.
The sequence seemed to light a fire under the Sun, who scored 15 of the next 22 points to seize a 42-28 lead at halftime. Olivia Nelson-Ododa scored six points in that sequence.
–Field Level Media
