Sports stats

WNBA Chicago Sky

Pondexter And Quigley Shine As Sky Rally Past Fever

June 26, 2015 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


CHICAGO- On Friday night, the WNBA's leading scorer Elena Delle Donne and the Chicago Sky (5-3) returned to the court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse for the third game of their 2015 series against the Indiana Fever (3-6). Despite trailing by as many as 11 points in the second half, the Sky battled back behind the offense of guards Cappie Pondexter and Allie Quigley, who combined for 40 points, to seal an 83-77 victory on the road.

The Fever sent two and three defenders at Elena Delle Donne to start the game forcing her to become a facilitator. Coming off a career-high 45 points on Wednesday afternoon, Delle Donne was held scoreless in the first nine minutes of action but her teammates stepped up. Allie Quigley scored the Sky's first five points and had eight in the first quarter. Cappie Pondexter added six on 3-of-5 shooting in the quarter but the Sky trailed 27-22 after one.

Pondexter and Quigley continued the scoring onslaught in the second, combining for a 6-0 run to pull the Sky within a single possession (30-28) two minutes into the second quarter. The two-guard duo led the Sky in the first half with 10 and 11 points respectively. Delle Donne scored her first field goal of the game to beat the buzzer as time expired in the first half, but the Sky trailed 52-43. The Fever maintained 56.3% shooting from the field in the first half, led by 13 points from Marissa Coleman and 12 from Jeanette Pohlen.

"Our coach [Pokey Chatman] at halftime came and challenged each one of us," said Pondexter. "I think we took it to heart, which says a lot about this team. We really, really want to win. We made the adjustments we needed to and we came out with the energy and focus on the defensive end."

Pondexter came out of the locker room aggressive, connecting on two consecutive jump shots to score the Sky's first four points of the second half. The tag team between Pondexter and Quigley continued, as Quigley then added back-to-back jumpers to pull the Sky within three points (56-53). The Sky outscored the Fever in the third to close the gap, 68-64 heading into the final 10 minutes of play.

Chicago used an 11-4 run to start the fourth quarter, regaining the lead before the five-minute mark. In a game that came down to the final seconds of regulation, Jessica Breland found Delle Donne under the basket to extend it to a two-possession game (81-77) with 27 seconds remaining. Despite scoring just 10 points in the first 39 minutes of action, Delle Donne iced the game at the free throw line as she scored the Sky's final four points to help Chicago escape with an 83-77 victory on the road.

Pondexter led all scorers in the game as she finished with 23 points while Quigley added 17. Despite struggling from the field, Delle Donne recorded her fourth consecutive double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Vandersloot also had an impressive performance as she delivered 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Check out the Chicago Sky Statistics



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from June 26, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Chicago Sky Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central