| Team | Score | Record | High Points | High Rebounds | High Assists |
| Sky | 68 | 2-1 | Wyckoff, 12 | Fowles, 9 | Raymond, 4 |
| Sparks | 84 | 2-0 | Leslie, 17 | Leslie, 7 | Ferdinand-Harris, Brown, Gissendanner, 3 |
Post-Game Notes, Sky v. Sparks Pre-Season, May 8, 2008
Tonight’s game was the Sky’s third pre-season game, and first loss. The Sky won their first two pre-season games against Seattle on April 30 at the UIC Pavilion and Indiana on May 3 at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee. The Sparks were coming off an 86-80 win over the expansion Atlanta Dream. This was the Sky’s first game at Sears Centre Arena.
Several key players on both teams missed tonight’s game due to overseas commitments. Sky players who were not at the game: Dominique Canty, Candice Dupree, Cathy Joens, and Bernadette Ngoyisa. The Sky’s Kayte Christensen did not dress due to a lower back injury. Missing for the Sparks were Shannon Bobbitt, Liron Cohen, Marta Fernandez, Raffaella Masciadri, DeLisha Milton-Jones, Muriel Page, and Candace Parker were not present for tonight’s game.
KEY STATS OF THE NIGHT
KEY RUN OF THE NIGHT
SKY-LIGHTS
SKY QUOTES
Head Coach Steven Key
On the team moving forward into the regular season:
“We’ve been preparing for the season, trying people out, and people are still trying to make the team. You always look to put people in the best spots, not focusing on wins and losses during the pre-season. For me, it’s about seeing who will make the team and to find the right people for the team, and go forward from there.
On Brooke Queenan’s performance tonight:
“What I like about Brooke is her patience, she never seems rushed and is always consistent, and she had a great game. To her credit I thought that she did very well tonight.”
On whether it was a letdown that Parker did not play:
“There was no emotional let down with Candace not being her. What really counts is that we will be playing them in June and that is the game that really matters. We played the team that showed up tonight. Unfortunately there were some fans who wanted to see that match-up, but for us it was not a let down.”
On Fowles covering Lisa Leslie:
“Lisa is the greatest center for sure, maybe even the greatest player of all time. Sylvia has to get some maturity and experience – it’s something that she can look forward to being in the future.”
On Canty and Dupree returning to camp late:
“Even if you are a veteran, you still like to have these pre-season games. They are in shape but you hope that they aren’t tired from playing overseas. I don’t think that it is ever an advantage, because even if you come in late you are still behind.”
On the Sparks:
“We needed to pick it up on defense. LA was hitting their open jumpers and we need to work on not giving them the open shots. Our shots may not have been falling, but I thought we did a great job matching their intensity and physicality in the second half.”
On missed open lay-ups:
“It’s only nerves for the first three minutes on the court. After that it is about concentration. They needed to concentrate more. I know they can make the shot and everyone else knows they can make it, they just have to concentrate more.”
#21 Brooke Wyckoff
On Sylvia Fowles:
“She’s strong, physical, has a great inside and outside game, she can obviously rebound, she can block shots, she has it all. I’s really exciting to have her on the team. And she’s an awesome person. She’s amazing; a great, great person. She gives us more and more options and she is really going to be a huge presence inside, not that we didn’t already have one, but she just adds to that, and as far as team chemistry she fits right in.”
On Parker not being at the game:
This is pre-season, so this is more about what we need to work on, getting it together on the court. We’ll see Candace again. I wasn’t too worried about it and I don’t think anyone else was.”
On upcoming regular season, any particular games she looks forward to:
“Every game is just as important as the next one to us. As a WNBA fan, it will be great to see players come to Chicago, but to me, no game is more important than the other.”
#34 Sylvia Fowles
Was it a letdown that Parker did not play:
“I know how big this game was as far as the media was concerned, but we were just looking forward to playing against the Sparks. The game was way beyond just her -- it’s players like Lisa and Temeka that we need to look out for.”
On Lisa Leslie:
“We spoke throughout the game. It was good to see her. You can learn so much from Lisa; she’s like a big sister, a mentor.”
On the upcoming season:
“I am ready for the upcoming season; I’m looking forward to playing with the final roster. I know we’ll have more energy then, and we’ll have Candice Dupree back, so I am looking forward to it.”
On who has impressed her in training camp:
“I’ve been impressed with Carrie Moore; she’s a hard worker and is relaxed when she is on the court.”
SPARKS QUOTES
Head Coach Michael Cooper
On the team’s shooting tonight:
“We are an inside-outside team and once we get the ball inside to Lisa and our post people they're able to do their thing. But when the other team's defense starts collapsing on us, we can kick it out and if we’ve got good court space, we’ve got pretty good shooters who can knock down shots.”
What do you expect from the Sky this season with new head coach Steve Key and Sylvia Fowles:
“Nothing less than what they have given us all this first game here. Obviously they'll have a couple more players that can really help them. Then again we'll have a full team, too, and players that were not here tonight. Coach Key has shown he is a great coach in this league and he's going to be a good head coach. I think the fact that he continues to run what they ran last year, even though there's a different coach shows that he has great confidence in what the previous coach had. We expect them to play hard, good defense. I think Candice Dupree is going to definitely help them in their half court set.”
You tried to push the ball up the floor with long passes to a streaking Leslie tonight. When Candace Parker returns to your lineup, will you push the tempo like you tried tonight?
“We'll put it in overdrive when she comes back. We're going to really go full throttle because she's the one that can rebound and get our transition game going, too. Our goal is to run our way to a championship.”
#9 Lisa Leslie
On her game tonight:
“I just tried to get out there and do the best that I can. For me, I knew I wasn't going to be able to play a lot of minutes so I just tried to be as effective as I could with my teammates running the floor and being solid on the defensive end. I could have done a better job rebounding. I only had one offensive board, so there's lots of room for improvement. I also got the ball taken away a lot. Chasity Melvin -- she reaches in really good; she was able to get the ball four different times, so I have to do much better against her.
On the team's goals after a disappointing 10-24 last season:
“I wasn't a part of the team last year as you know, but I'm all about winning. I'm excited for us to pick up where I left off.”
