Silver Stars-Sky Preview

By KATE HEDLIN
Posted Jul 10 2012 9:26PM

The San Antonio Silver Stars haven't slowed down, even in the midst of a challenging stretch in their schedule.

Playing a fourth straight game on the road, the Silver Stars will try to match their longest winning streak in franchise history as they visit the Chicago Sky on Wednesday.

San Antonio is making its move up the Western Conference standings after a 2-4 start, which included a 77-63 loss to Chicago on May 30. The Silver Stars (11-5), who are two games out of first place, have won seven straight, with their last three victories coming on the road in a four-day span.

They extended the streak - their longest since 2008 - with a 94-81 win at New York on Sunday. Becky Hammon had 23 points and six assists and Jia Perkins scored a season-high 24 points, shooting 10 of 17.

"My teammates do a good job of penetrating and finding the open players," Perkins said. "When we have a lineup in with Danielle (Adams), me, Shameka (Christon) and Becky, it's hard to guard that because we space so well and have a lot of 3-point shooters. It's just up to us to knock them down when the opportunity presents itself."

The Silver Stars went 11 of 29 from beyond the arc.

It was the fourth time during the winning streak San Antonio topped 90 points. It averages 82.8 points - third-most in the WNBA.

The Silver Stars have a chance to match their franchise's longest winning streak, set July 24-Aug. 7, 2001, against a slumping Sky team which has lost six of seven.

They have lost their last two, including an 88-86 overtime defeat at Indiana on Saturday.

Sylvia Fowles finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds while Shay Murphy added 20 points. Chicago (8-7) attempted fewer foul shots (22) than the Fever made (28) and also committed 27 turnovers, matching a season high.

"It's tough when Indiana goes to the line 38 times and only one foul in 10 minutes," coach Pokey Chatman said. "We had the opportunities and we didn't take advantage of it."

Chicago continues to struggle without leading scorer Epiphanny Prince, who suffered a broken right foot June 16 while the team was off to its best start in franchise history.

However, it was Fowles who was key in the Sky's win over the Silver Stars in May, finishing with 23 points and 12 rebounds, as San Antonio had little size to defend the 6-foot-6 Fowles.

"Fowles is about as good as it gets at that position," Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes said. "We weren't strong enough."

Young, Robinson lead Silver Stars past Sky

Posted Jul 11 2012 5:42PM

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) Sophia Young and Danielle Robinson scored 16 points each to lead the San Antonio Silver Stars to a 77-68 victory over the Chicago Sky on Wednesday for their eighth straight win.

Jia Perkins had 11 points and Shenise Johnson added 10 to help the Silver Stars (12-5) get their 10th win in 11 games.

San Antonio led by four at halftime before Becky Hammon's three-point play early in the third pushed lead to 45-35 lead. The Silver Stars scored six consecutive points to extend the advantage to 61-49 heading to the fourth and led by 21 midway through the final period.

``It was just another team effort,'' San Antonio's Becky Hammon said. ``Everybody came in and contributed. We had that little burst at the end where we could create separation. They're a good team and we knew that they would push back at us. Luckily, we were able to sustain it and we really got to play our defense, especially in the fourth quarter.''

Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes said he isn't paying attention to the team's winning streak, instead focusing on how well the team is playing heading into the Olympic break after opening 2-4.

``I don't even know how many games we've won in a row to be honest,'' he said. ``I don't care. What I do see is people starting to understand how to play with each other and getting their roles down. ... We've been able to understand how important our bench is and how we play together. We feel like we're playing good basketball.''

Shay Murphy scored 20 points and Tamera Young had 18 to lead Chicago (8-8), which has lost three straight.

After winning seven of the first eight games, Chicago has lost seven of the last eight since losing star guard Epiphanny Prince to broken bone in her right foot on June 16.

``We're not a very good basketball team right now, and that's on me. I take that responsibility, and we'll figure it out,'' Sky coach Pokey Chatman said. ``Individuals need to look in the mirror, try to improve themselves, and not have the same thing happen over and over again. ... Read the scouting report, if she's not a shooter, back up, don't get into her, let her drive.''

Sylvia Fowles and Swin Cash, set to play for the U.S. at the London Olympics, combined for 14 points on 4-for-19 shooting. Fowles had six points, ending a streak of 83 consecutive games in double digits.

``I wasn't productive on the inside, didn't really do much on the boards. Kind of like I was non-existent,'' said Fowles, who grabbed seven rebounds - nearly six below her league-leading average. ``I felt like my teammates did a great job at trying to stay in the game and be productive. We got good looks, we just didn't stop the ball in transition as much. Putting them to the line really hurt us.''

San Antonio never trailed and scored 31 points off 20 turnovers by the Sky. The Silver Stars shot 42 percent (28 for 67) from the field and 15 for 19 (79 percent) on free throws.

The Silver Stars stretched the margin to 21 points on Perkins' 3 midway through the final period before the Sky closed with a 14-2 spurt over the final 3:50.

San Antonio scored six points off Chicago's five first-quarter turnovers on the way to a 19-15 edge. Sophia Young had six points for the Silver Stars while Tamera Young had six for the Sky.

Murphy had 10 points in the second quarter - including a 3 with 28 seconds left in the period - to pull Chicago to 34-33. However, Johnson made a baseline 3 to give San Antonio a four-point lead at the break.

• Silver Stars: --
• Sky: --

• Silver Stars: --
• Sky: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
• Officials: #18 Kurt Walker, #22 Tyler Ford, #43 Brenda Pantoja
• Attendance: 13161
• Duration: 1:55