Silver Stars-Sky Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jun 08 2013 1:21PM

While the San Antonio Silver Stars have learned to adjust without injured All-Stars Sophia Young and Becky Hammon, the Chicago Sky had their hands full in their first game without leading scorer Epiphanny Prince.

The Silver Stars hit the road for the first time Sunday looking for a third straight win and a home-and-home sweep of the Sky, who try to bounce back from their first loss.

San Antonio suffered a season-opening 79-64 defeat to Indiana but has since gotten on track. After beating Los Angeles 83-78 last Saturday, the Silver Stars cruised to an 81-69 win over Chicago on Friday.

The Sky, who had averaged 93.3 points in opening 3-0 for the first time in franchise history, were limited to a season-low 38.6 percent shooting with Prince off preparing to play for the Russian national team. The fourth-year guard, averaging 20.7 points, won't be back until next month, though she arrived back in Chicago on Friday to be evaluated after spraining her ankle in an exhibition Thursday.

"The reality is they were without Prince, who is a big part of their team," Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes said. "Every moment they will evolve a little bit. They will learn something about their team, just like we had to learn without Sophia (Young) and Bec (Hammon)."

While playing without Young (torn knee ligament) and Hammon (broken finger) hasn't been ideal, Danielle Robinson has given San Antonio a huge lift. Leading the club with 13.3 points and 7.7 assists per contest, Robinson had 18 and seven to go along with four steals Friday.

"As a point guard she's leading us," guard Jia Perkins said. "She's doing everything. If she has to score, she's scoring. She gets to the basket, finding the open man and that's what we need out of her. She's our leader. As she goes, we go."

Besides trying to contain Robinson, the Sky likely will need more from Sylvia Fowles. The All-Star center had 13 rebounds but posted just nine points Friday. Rookie standout Elena Delle Donne was the only starter to score in double figures, recording 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting.

"It was definitely a focus in the game, stopping (Delle Donne and Fowles), especially with Epiphanny out," Silver Stars forward Jayne Appel said. "We are really focusing in right now."

Chicago, which was outscored 42-32 in the paint and 10-0 in transition, will surely be looking to come out strong from the opening tip.

"From start to finish, they played much tougher than us," Delle Donne said. "They took us out of what we wanted to do offensively and then defensively we really came up short as a team. We weren't talking enough; we weren't on the help side. It's just the little things that we need to do on defense."

While San Antonio has posted back-to-back wins in Chicago, Young scored a combined 35 points in those games. Robinson also came up big with 16 in a 77-68 victory there July 11.

The Silver Stars haven't swept this two-game season series since 2008.

Delle Donne leads Sky past Silver Stars, 72-70

Posted Jun 09 2013 9:52PM

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) Missing their leading scorer, the Chicago Sky are asking rookie Elena Delle Donne to pick up the slack.

She answered the call on Sunday, scoring a career-high 23 points, including two free-throws with 1.8 seconds left, to lead the Sky to a 72-70 win over the San Antonio Silver Stars and earn praise from her coach.

``We've all been talking about it and the word that we've all used is unique skill set for somebody 6-5, and poise,'' Sky coach Pokey Chatman said.

Chicago (4-1), playing its second game without Epiphanny Prince, led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter, but Jia Perkins tied the game 70-70 on a 3-pointer with 4.3 seconds left. Delle Donne then took the inbounds pass from Swin Cash and was fouled in the lane by Shameka Christon, setting up her two free throws. After a timeout, Perkins missed a desperation, off-balance 3-pointer to seal Chicago's win.

Delle Donne, the second overall pick in April's draft, helped Chicago recover from its first loss of the season, an 81-69 defeat on Friday to the Silver Stars in San Antonio.

``We really wanted redemption. We were unhappy after that loss for many reasons,'' said Delle Donne who had the toughest outing of her young career in the loss. ``We watched the film and we let it sink in and then we realized that it was time to bounce back.''

During that game, Chatman wanted Delle Donne to be more assertive. She responded Sunday by making 7 of 12 from the field and connecting on her first five attempts. The Sky also tried to establish her more in the post, while giving her more ball-handling duties.

``I felt a lot more comfortable tonight,'' Delle Donne said.

Prince, who is averaging 20.7 points, left the team last week to join the Russian national team as it tries to qualify for next year's world championships. She hurt her right ankle Thursday and is back in Chicago to consult with team doctors. She's not scheduled to rejoin the Sky until July.

Chicago got its fourth win in five games thanks to Delle Donne and Sylvia Fowles, who had her third double-double of the season with 15 points and 16 rebounds.

``It's obvious Piph brings a lot to the table, but at the end of the day it's 11 people out there who have to play on the floor,'' Fowles said. ``Her being limited it hurts us, but at the same time we've still got a team that needs to go out there and play and win.''

San Antonio was saying similar things.

Perkins scored 20 to lead the Silver Stars (2-2), who were without injured All-Stars Becky Hammon (right middle finger) and Sophia Young (right ACL). Despite that, and falling behind by 15, San Antonio came back to tie the Sky.

``My only thing was I wish we could have played more basketball because I felt like we were headed in the right direction,'' Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes said.

Perkins' 20 points were a season high, and without Hammon and Young, she is being asked to do more for San Antonio.

``I think we're coming along well,'' Perkins said. ``We've been playing good basketball, team basketball, so we don't have any excuses right now. We're good with what we've got.''

Chatman and the Sky know what they have in Delle Donne, who's averaging 19.4 points per game and has scored at least 20 three times. Chatman also knew that everybody expected Delle Donne to get the ball on the last possession.

The lack of surprise didn't matter.

``The only thoughts going to the line is knock these down,'' Delle Donne said. ``There's no negative thoughts, nothing. Just make these shots one at a time.''

• Silver Stars: --
• Sky: --

• Silver Stars: --
• Sky: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
• Officials: #9 Denise Brooks, #11 Lauren Holtkamp, #22 Tyler Ford
• Attendance: 4293
• Duration: 2:08