Sky use fourth-quarter surge to rally previous Sparks

Lindsay Allen had 16 points, while rookie Kamilla Cardoso added 15 with 14 rebounds, as the visiting Chicago Sky used a fourth-quarter rally to win 90-86 over the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday.

Fellow rookie Angel Reese added 14 points with 11 boards and Rachel Banham also scored 14 for the Sky (11-15), who rebounded from their ugly 85-65 home loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday by outscoring the Sparks (6-20) 26-12 in the fourth.

The Sky trailed 74-64 after three quarters, but scored 15 of the first 17 points in the fourth, including six from Cardoso, to lead 79-76. Stephanie Talbot’s 3-pointer for Los Angeles tied it at 79-79, but Reese’s free throw gave Chicago the lead for good.

Kia Nurse scored 16 for the Sparks, and her free throw got the hosts within 84-82 with 3:10 to play. However, Allen followed with a basket, then assisted Reese on a layup to give the Sky a six-point edge.

Chicago shot 48.6 percent and held Los Angeles to 39.2 percent. Talbot and rookie Rickea Jackson each scored 13 for the Sparks, who have lost five straight at home, where they lost 103-68 to the New York Liberty on Thursday.

Los Angeles led 46-42 at halftime, and pushed that advantage to 58-51 after Jackson scored five consecutive points. However, later in the period, the Sky used a 9-3 surge to get within 61-60.

But the Sparks scored 13 of the final 17 of the quarter, including the last eight. Six came via Talbot.

The Sky went 10-of-20 from the field in the opening quarter, while the Sparks made 52.6 percent of their shots in the period, which finished with the visitors ahead 26-25.

Though Los Angeles finished the first half shooting 39 percent, Nurse and Crystal Dangerfield each hit two 3-pointers during the second quarter. The Sparks scored eight of the final 12 points of the first half, highlighted by Dangerfield’s 3 in the final seconds, to enjoy a four-point lead at the break.

–Field Level Media