Postgame Notes: Chicago Sky 67, Los Angeles Sparks 77
July 13, 2016 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release
Score by Quarter
Chicago (8-12) 17 18 15 17 67
Los Angeles (19-1) 19 25 18 15 77
Postgame Notes
* The Allstate Arena set a new Sky single-game attendance record with 16,444 fans in attendance. The last record was 16,402 set on July 9, 2014. * Elena Delle Donne led the Sky with 15 points to go with six rebounds. It was the first game in her last 15 that Delle Donne did not attempt any free throws. * Jamierra Faulkner recorded zero turnovers while finishing with five assists. Faulkner added five points in her second consecutive start. * Cheyenne Parker and Imani Boyette both started their second consecutive games of the season and their careers today. Boyette recorded nine points and seven rebounds while Cheyenne Parker finished with a career-high 10 points, on a career-high five made field goals. She also played a season-high 22 minutes for the most efficient game of her career as she shot 71.4 percent from the floor. * With her three made three-pointers, Allie Quigley passed teammate Courtney Vandersloot and former Sky guard Erin Thorn for fourth all-time in Sky career leaders in three point field-goals made at 114. * Quigley continued the most productive three-game stretch of her career with a 13-point effort off the bench. She is now averaging 21.0 points on 55.5% shooting from the field and 54.5% from behind the arc in her last three contests. * Chicago logged 13 second-chance points, which can be attributed to the team's 10 offensive rebounds. Los Angeles only scored two second-chance points and had two offensive rebounds. * The Sky recorded a season-low five turnovers, their previous low of eight occurred on July 1st against Washington. * The Sparks have moved to 19-1 on the season with their eighth consecutive win. They sit in sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. The Sparks are one game away from tying the 1998 Houston Comets' 20-1 record. * This was the ninth double-double of the season for Nneka Ogwumike who finished with a game-high 20 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks. On the season series against the Sky, Ogwumike is averaging 22.0 points, 10.7 rebounds, on 80.6% percent shooting from the field. * Los Angeles has swept the season series against the Sky, 3-0. The average margin of victory for the Sparks in this series was 12 points. * Naperville native Candace Parker was held to 11 points after injuring her ankle in Sunday's game against Washington. She dished out nine assists and brought down seven rebounds. For the season series, Parker holds averages of 18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game against the Sky. * Alana Beard tied her season-high in blocks with two. She also chipped in five points and three rebounds. * Los Angeles out-numbered Chicago in various statistical categories. The Sparks shot 55.0% overall compared to the Sky's 39.2%. Also, Los Angeles recorded 28 assists in comparison to Chicago's 18. The visitors blocked eight shots while Chicago recorded one blocked shot today.
QUOTES
Chicago Sky Head Coach and General Manager Pokey Chatman
(Opening statement...)
"Obviously LA is a very good team, and it's not about trying to find moral victories. It's about finding momentum for the next game. Despite them shooting a high percentage from the field, I thought we were able to do some good things. I thought we were able to get some good looks for some very good players and sometimes that is lost when you lose a basketball game. But the challenge is to string together more positive minutes, make sure we watch the video, take care of some technical things and get ready for our next game."
(On defense in the fourth quarter...)
"We got some consecutive stops defensively. I thought we were talking and moving. We went into a little bit of a match-up zone, and we went into a traditional zone. I thought we got momentum in that because when we got stops, we got in transition, so we'd get a little bit more energy. In that regard, they are a really good team and [Nneka] Ogwumike showed why she's in contention for MVP."
(On Cheyenne Parker...)
"I thought she was engaged. It gave us an opportunity to play her when they had certain lineups in there. She's consistently been doing some of the dirt-work that doesn't show up in the stats sheet. She's learning how to play amongst these people, and she's capitalizing on it."
Chicago Sky Forward Elena Delle Donne | 15 points, 6 rebounds
(On getting through losses and Cappie Pondexter's leadership...)
"It's definitely tough getting through the losses. You know, focusing on that next game and not looking back on the past one and dwelling. Like Pokey [Chatman] said, Cappie has been in this position before, she's played for so many years now. I think she's definitely the biggest help getting us through times like this where we feel like we're losing and we're down on ourselves. Her being that vet and someone that we lean on and look to."
(On her own leadership...)
"I've put in tons of years of work. I'm not always a vocal leader. I try to lead by example. Me being on the court, even if it's just spacing, hopefully that gives people some room and some confidence."
(On preparing for Dallas on Friday...) "There were some good things for sure. I think our transition offense is still a really great thing that we can continue to capitalize on. Defensively, we held them under their average, so that's a really great thing for us that we have been focusing on as well. Gain confidence in that and our entire focus needs to be on Dallas, no looking back."
(On the kids and camp day...)
"They're impressionable, they're young, so if you can inspire a few of them out there, who knows what their dreams may be. They get to see confident women who have been working years on this, and we're in this great league. So hopefully we were able to inspire some of them. It's always great to see them out there. Sometimes they cheer for the other team though, we're going to have to talk to them about that."
Chicago Sky Guard Allie Quigley | 13 points, 2 assists
(On Los Angeles' tough defense...)
"They're big, they're really athletic, [and] they cover a lot of space, but at the same time we got some good looks that we normally hit."
(On the Camp Day Crowd...)
"It's inspiring because [I] think back to when I was their age I was going to college games, high school games, and looking up to [those] athletes. It's great that they have a professional team here, and I would have loved it when I was their age if we had one to support so it's great that we can be that for them."
Los Angeles Sparks Head Coach Brian Agler
(On today's game...)
"It was tough. Chicago's a very dangerous team; they are excellent offensively and change their defenses, try to keep us off track a little bit. They are a good team, difficult to defend. I was proud of our defense besides the first few minutes of the game where they scored 13 or 15 points, but after that we settled in and defended them pretty well."
(On defending Chicago...)
"We knew what they were going to do, it is just they are a good team. It is just not easy. We did not have the intensity or anticipation that we would have liked, but we got there."
(On having the same lineup for 20 consecutive games...)
"We don't like change; it has worked for us. Today, they started a big lineup. I wanted to see if our traditional lineup could hang in there and do well. I'll have to look at the film, it did not seem like it was doing well. We also have the benefit to go with a big lineup ourselves. Bring in Jantel [Lavender] to go with Nneka [Ogwumike] and Candace [Parker], we played Ann Wauters some, too, in the post. We had a little more depth in the post, so we could play bigger when they went that way. We are confident with that group, so we will continue to go that way."
Los Angeles Sparks Forward Nneka Ogwumike | 20 points, 11 rebounds
(On her consistent play...)
"I just go out there and I'm just as aggressive as I can. I think efficiency is a big part of my game. I know when to take a good shot and my teammates are always great at finding me, so I have a good time just playing out there and I'm having fun out there."
(On their third quarter defense...)
"We made a couple adjustments at halftime, and I think those adjustments really helped us contain the ball. We wanted to keep the ball out of the middle of the floor and that really helped us."
(On playing with Candace Parker...)
"Yeah I learn a lot from CP, definitely. Playing with her, I've developed a chemistry that's made me a better player, made me a better passer, better catcher and we've developed a rapport that is definitely showing out on the court now."
Los Angeles Sparks Forward Candace Parker | 11 points, 9 assists & 7 rebounds
(On the team's depth...)
"I think that, with our team, it doesn't matter. We're gonna get good looks and sometimes it's gonna be [Nneka Ogwumike] having it going in the first, and sometimes it's gonna be me. But throughout the game, I think that's what's so dangerous about our team, because anybody can step up and anybody can score."
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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 13, 2016
- Postgame Notes: Chicago Sky 67, Los Angeles Sparks 77 - Chicago Sky
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