Kamilla Cardoso had 22 points with 12 rebounds, Natasha Cloud scored 20 points and recorded her 1,900th career assist, and the visiting Chicago Sky edged the Seattle Storm 82-80 on Sunday.
Courtney Vandersloot had 15 points, while Cloud added eight rebounds for the Sky (13-22), who nearly blew a 21-point first-half lead and overcame 36% shooting from the field by making 22 of 27 free throws.
Dominique Malonga had 19 points with 13 rebounds while Ezi Magbegor scored 17 for the Storm (7-30), who shot 40.3% in a failed attempt to beat Chicago for the second time in seven days.
The Sky led 71-59 early in the fourth quarter, but Seattle managed 11 of the game’s next 12 points to get within two at the 3:51 mark. The game remained tight into the final seconds when two free throws from Awa Fam (14 points) pulled the Storm within 79-78 with 20.3 seconds to play.
Cloud made two free throws for a three-point Sky lead with 16.2 seconds to go. After Malonga made two free throws for Seattle, Vandersloot made one of two from the stripe with 9.9 seconds to go. Seattle’s Jade Melbourne (11 points) missed a running layup at the buzzer.
Zia Cooke chipped in 10 points off the bench for the Storm.
Chicago led 53-35 early in the third quarter before Seattle rattled off 11 straight points. After back-to-back Cardoso baskets gave the Sky a 57-46 lead, Melbourne knocked down a 3-pointer that began a 9-3 spurt and got Seattle within 60-55 entering the fourth.
After Flau’jae Johnson’s 3-pointer got Seattle within 30-20 in the second quarter, the Sky went on a 7-0 run, highlighted by Cloud assisting consecutive baskets (a Jacy Sheldon triple and a Cardoso layup) to hit the milestone. Cloud is the eighth player in WNBA history to record 1,900 assists.
The Sky, who shot 48.6% through the first two quarters, led 46-29 at halftime.
The Storm shot 5-of-20 and committed 10 turnovers in the first quarter, while the Sky went 3-of-7 from 3-point range to lead 23-11 after one period.
–Field Level Media
