Big fourth quarter helps Sky beat Sparks again

Angel Reese had an emphatic double-double Sunday, and the visiting Chicago Sky spoiled the Los Angeles Sparks' jersey retirement day for Candace Parker, recording a 92-85 win.

Reese dominated inside with 24 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists, clinching the outcome with a 3-point play on an assist from Rachel Banham with 2:30 left to make it 85-74. She was responsible for 19 points in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 and dishing out three assists, two of them leading to 3-pointers.

Ariel Atkins added 20 points for Chicago (5-11), which also got 14 off the bench from Kia Nurse. Banham contributed 13 points and Elizabeth Williams scored 12 as the Sky canned 48.5 percent from the field, including 11 of 26 from the 3-point line.

Kelsey Plum scored 22 points to pace Los Angeles (5-12), while Dearica Hamby tallied 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double. Azura Stevens added 17 points and reserve Emma Cannon pumped in 15.

Chicago outscored the Sparks 31-23 in the fourth quarter, taking the lead for good when Reese drove for a layup at the 7:36 mark to make it 68-66. That started a 14-3 run that Los Angeles couldn't counter.

The teams were meeting for the second time this week, with Chicago taking the opening matchup 97-86 on Tuesday night behind Kamilla Cardoso's 27 points. But Cardoso was out Sunday as she's playing for Brazil in the Americup tournament.

But the Sky still played a solid first half, establishing a 40-34 lead at intermission primarily via better shooting. They made 15 of 32 attempts from the field while Los Angeles struggled, hitting only 12 of 39 attempts.

However, the Sparks finally found the range in the third quarter after Reese's 3-point play put them down 48-36. Cannon was the catalyst, setting up a bucket and then hitting consecutive 3-pointers to fuel a 24-5 run that led to a seven-point advantage before Chicago crawled within 62-61 via Atkins' 20-footer as time expired.

--Field Level Media