Chicago – A five-game winning streak ended Friday night at Wintrust Arena, where the Connecticut Sun fell to the Chicago Sky, 97-86.
Chiney Ogwumike led the Sun (17-13) with 18 points while Jasmine Thomas (14 points, five rebounds), Jonquel Jones (13 points, six rebounds) and Shekinna Stricklen (12 points on four made threes) paced the Connecticut offense.
But that was not enough to overcome Chicago (11-19).
Point guard Courtney Vandersloot had 20 points and a career-high 15 assists – one short of the WNBA record – and the Sky racked up a remarkable 35 assists on 39 made baskets while a total of six Chicago players scored in double figures.
Allie Quigley (17 points, six assists), Stefanie Dolson (16 points), Diamond DeShields (12 points, seven rebounds, six assists), Gabby Williams (11 points, seven rebounds) and Kahleah Copper (10 points) all contributed to an efficient Sky offense.
The Sun had posted consecutive 100-point games, and were averaging 97.6 points and 39.6 made field goals during the five-game winning streak.
But the Sun were down 6-0 barely one minute into the game, and spent the rest of the night chasing the Sky, who built a 29-16 lead after one quarter. The lead was 54-36 at the half.
The Sun trailed 65-45 with 5:52 left in the third quarter when Stricklen made three straight three-pointers in a span of 57 seconds to jump-start a 21-7 Connecticut run.
Jones added seven points during the run, including a difficult reverse layup and a long three. Jasmine Thomas ended the third quarter with a three-pointer to make it 72-66 after three quarters.
The surge continued into the fourth quarter as a three-pointer from Jones made it 72-69 in the first minute.
But the Sky responded with a 13-3 run that included a pair of jumpers by Williams and a three-pointer by Quigley. That pushed the Chicago lead to 85-72 with just over five minutes remaining, and the Sun could not get closer than seven points after that.
A Stricklen three-pointer made it 92-85 with just over one minute remaining. But Dolson answered with a three of her own with 56 seconds left to close it out.
This was the final road game of the season for Connecticut. The Sun close out the regular season with four straight home games, beginning Sunday, when Chicago visits Mohegan Sun Arena at 3 p.m.