Prince, Delle Donne and Fowles lead Sky in dominant win over Sun, 77-61

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – When the WNBA announced the season schedule, the Chicago Sky at the Connecticut Sun appeared to be a marquee matchup. The Sun had the best record in the Eastern Conference in 2012 and would host the Chicago Sky, who narrowly missed the playoffs but added rookie sensation Elena Delle Donne.

No one expected it to be the first place versus last place matchup it was, and the outcome was befitting with the Sky dominating the Sun in almost every facet of the game in winning 77-61 before 6,086 Sun fans at Mohegan Sun Arena.

All-Stars Epiphanny Prince (game-high 23 points), Elena Delle Donne (19 points, nine rebounds), and Sylvia Fowles (14 points, 10 rebounds) led the Sky.

“We needed to make a statement,” said Sky coach Pokey Chatman. “Sylvia (Fowles) was really locked in. When you have to go against Tina Charles it’s always a war with them. She battled on the defensive end and turned it into good offense. That loosened it up for everyone else.”

With Fowles scoring inside, including a couple of above the rim tip-ins, the Sky’s Prince and Delle Donne combined to shoot 7-for-10 from three-point range with a beautiful array of jumpers.

“Piph has the pull up, crossover, is really dynamic, and really quick. What makes Elena so unique is she’s 6-5 taking it out on the perimeter, and she has such a high release point, players are starting to poke her in the face because you can’t get to her release its so high. They are both pretty special shooters.”

When the Sun narrowed the Sky lead to four in the second quarter, Prince broke the game open. Her back-to-back threes increased the lead to ten, and the Sun never came close again.

The Sun struggled on offense, with Tina Charles making 2-of-18 shots, for five points. Allison Hightower led the Sun with 13 points.

Sun coach Anne Donovan was visibly frustrated after the game, referring to defensive lapses by multiple members of the Sun, allowing the Sky players in the paint repeatedly. The Sky had 11 offensive rebounds, and scored 20 of their 77 points on second chance opportunities.

“You go down,” said Donovan, “with your best effort on the floor, and we didn’t do that tonight. It was a physical game, the referees let both teams play, and Chicago played through it better than we did.”

Connecticut is stuck in the basement of the Eastern conference, with a crucial game against Washington on Sunday. The Mystics are 3.5 games ahead of the Sun.

“It’s huge,” said Donovan about Sunday’s game. “They got a huge win at Minnesota so they get a little momentum and they get to play at home. We understand our feet are to the fire right now, we have to take advantage of every opportunity, and we let one slip away tonight.”

Chicago heads home to take on the best of the West, the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday. Chatman knows it is going to be another aggressive battle, and defense will be the key.

“Anytime you hold somebody to the 60s (Connecticut scored 61 tonight), you know you’re doing okay, and you know we’re going to need that going into the next matchup against Minnesota. I get to enjoy this for ten minutes and then I’ve got to go watch video.”

Notes

• The Sky earned their 14th win of the season, matching their 2012 total.
• The Sky tied their season high in rebounds (46), first achieved against the Connecticut Sun on May 31.
• The Sky held the Sun to 1-of-14 (7.1%) shooting from the three-point line, the lowest three-point FG% the Sky have held an opponent to this season.
• Elena Delle Donne and Epiphanny Prince combined for 42 points on a combined 7-of-10 shooting from the three-point line.
• This is the fourth game this season that Prince has scored 20 points or more.
• Delle Donne went 4-for-5 from the three-point line, marking the most three point baskets she’s made in a single game this season.
• Sylvia Fowles recorded her 10th double-double of the season totaling 14 points and 10 boards.
• The reigning WNBA MVP Tina Charles, who averaged 19.0 points per game entering tonight, was held to a season low five points.