Sky Surge to Second Straight Victory with 96-82 Win over Sparks
WNBA Chicago Sky

Sky Surge to Second Straight Victory with 96-82 Win over Sparks

Published on July 17, 2026 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


The Chicago Sky defeated the Los Angeles Sparks 96-82 in Wintrust Arena on Friday, July 17. With their second consecutive victory, the Sky are now 9-16 on the season, 8-8 against the Western Conference, 5-7 at home, and 20-32 against the Sparks all-time.

In another impressive all-around showing, five members of the Sky finished the contest in double figures. In her 26 minutes of action, guard Sydney Taylor quarterbacked the offensive effort with a game-high 19 points while finishing as a plus-20. The undrafted rookie - who is averaging 16.8 points per game since being inserted into the starting lineup on June 17 - has led Chicago in scoring on eight occasions this season, the second most by any member of the Sky.

Taylor trails only All-WNBA-hopeful center Kamilla Cardoso, who dropped 13 points, corralled 11 rebounds and denied a pair of shot attempts in an efficient 24 minutes of play. Cardoso scaled several franchise lists when she walked off the floor with her ninth double-double of the season (see below) and shot over 50% for the twelfth time in her last 13 games.

Jacy Sheldon put together arguably her most prolific performance of the season, tying a season-high in points (14) and field goals (6) while shooting 50% from the field. The former Buckeye also tied Taylor for a game-leading plus-20 off the bench, exemplifying her impact for the second unit.

Natasha Cloud orchestrated another all-around outing, tying her season high in assists (9) while surrendering zero turnovers. The veteran also added 15 points and wrapped the night with a clutch three-pointer, much to the pleasure of a packed Wintrust Arena.

Azurá Stevens followed up her 20-point, eight rebound outing against Seattle by attacking both sides of the hardwood, notching 12 points, five assists, six rebounds and a season-high three steals. She's scored at least 12 points and snared at least six boards in each of her last four games.

On the opposite end, the Sparks were led by 11-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike, who secured an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double on the same night she became the franchise's all-time leader in points scored. Dearica Hamby chipped in with 18 points, six rebounds and two steals of her own, and guard Erica Wheeler rounded out the box score with 14 points, four assists and four rebounds.

Other highlights include:

Kamilla Cardoso (134) surpassed Stefanie Dolson (133) for No. 8 on the Sky's all-time blocks list

Sydney Taylor scored her 300th career point, becoming the fourth rookie to do so this season

Caroso (529) surpassed Angel Reese (528) for No. 8 on Chicago's all-time defensive rebounds list

Cardoso (29) surpassed Candice Dupree (28) for No. 4 on the Sky's all-time double-doubles list (29)

Nneka Ogwumike (6,281) surpassed Lisa Leslie (6,263) to become the all-time leading scorer in Sparks history

NEXT UP: The Sky venture to Atlanta for their second test of the season against the Dream, this time at the Gateway Center Arena @ College Park on Sunday, July 19. Chicago holds a 37-31 all-time record in the regular season against the franchise dating back to 2008.

The Sky traded blows with the Dream throughout their most recent battle on June 9, a game which featured 15 lead changes and 13 ties.

Despite the 82-75 loss, Cloud dropped a team-best 18 points, lassoed six rebounds, dished out four assists, snagged a pair of steals and drilled a season-high nine free throws in 30 minutes off the bench. Fellow veteran Skylar Diggins added 17 points, three rebounds and three assists in her 32 minutes of action, and Cardoso scored her 1,000th career point in her 13-point, four-block effort.

At 15-10, former Rookie of the Year and 2025 WNBA First Team member Allisha Gray leads Atlanta in scoring, averaging just under 18.7 points off 44.8% from the field in just under 33 minutes per outing. Three-time All-Star Rhyne Howard puts up 17.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 steals off a 35.4% mark from outside and 86.8% clip from the charity stripe per game. Forward Angel Reese averages just under 16 points per game and leads the league in rebounds per appearance with 11.8.

The game between Chicago and Atlanta tips off at 3 p.m. CT inside Gateway Center Arena @ College Park and will be broadcast on CBS.

KEY RUNS:

The Sky went on an 11-2 run from 6:09 to 2:43 in the first quarter

Chicago went on a 20-5 run from 0:02 in the first quarter to 6:04 in the second quarter

The Sky outscored the Sparks 33-19 in the second quarter

Los Angeles went on a 12-4 run from 2:09 to 0:03 in the third quarter

The Sky went on an 11-3 run from 9:35 to 6:14 in the fourth quarter

Chicago outscored Los Angeles 27-19 in the fourth quarter

KEY STATS:

The Sky's bench outscored the Sparks' 28-14

Los Angeles shot 78.3% (18 of 23) from the line

Chicago assisted on 27 of their 37 field goals made

The Sparks recorded 18 turnovers to the Sky's nine

The Sky put up 33 points in the second quarter, their most in any second quarter this season

Chicago led by as many as 16 points

The Sky's bench outscored the Sparks 28-14

Both teams combined 34 rebounds

There were five lead changes and two ties

The Sky shot 60.9% (14 of 23) from the field in the second quarter

Chicago's bench outscored Los Angeles' 23-0 in the first half

The Sky dished out 19 assists in the first half while Los Angeles tallied nine

Chicago scored 92.9% of their points from assisted shots in the second quarter

The Sky shot 60.0% (9 of 15) from the field, 57.1% from deep (4 of 7) and 62.5% (5 of 8) from the line in the fourth quarter

CHICAGO NOTES:

Azurá Stevens accounted for six of Chicago's 16 points in the first quarter

Natasha Cloud tallied four assists in the first quarter

Cloud accounted for eight of Chicago's 20 points in the third quarter (five points, three points created from assists)

Cloud accounted for 12 of the Sky's 27 points in the fourth quarter (10 points, two points created from assists)

Sydney Taylor accounted for nine of the Sky's 33 points in the second quarter

Taylor accounted for 7 of the Sky's 20 points in the third quarter

Gabriela Jaquez accounted for 10 of Chicago's 33 points in the second quarter (eight points, two points created from assists)

Kamilla Cardoso accounted for 10 of the Sky's 27 points in the fourth quarter (seven points, three points created from assists)

LOS ANGELES NOTES:

Nneka Ogwumike accounted for seven of the Sparks' 17 points in the first quarter (five points, two points created from assists)

Ogwumike accounted for nine of the Sparks' 19 points in the second quarter (seven points, two points created from assists)

Rae Burrell accounted for eight of Los Angeles' 17 points in the first quarter (two points, six points created from assists)

Dearica Hamby accounted for 10 of the Sparks' 27 points in the third quarter (eight points, two points created from assists)

Cameron Brink accounted for seven of Los Angeles' 27 points in the third quarter

Erica Wheeler accounted for nine of the Sparks' 19 points in the fourth quarter (four points, five points created from assists)

Check out the Chicago Sky Statistics

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Women's National Basketball Association Stories from July 17, 2026


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