Sophie Cunningham notched her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, helping lead the host Phoenix Mercury to their second win over the Chicago Sky in the past four days, prevailing 86-68 on Sunday night. Phoenix (15-13) beat the Sky 85-65 at Chicago on Thursday in the first game after the month-long Olympic break.
Chicago (11-16) played on back-to-back days on the road after winning 90-86 on Saturday at the Los Angeles Sparks. The Sky trailed by as many as 20 in the first half before the Mercury led 52-35 at halftime behind Diana Taurasi’s 15 points. Taurasi finished with 23 points and five assists and Brittney Griner had 18 points
Monique Billings, signed earlier Sunday to a seven-day contract, added 13 points and eight rebounds. Kahleah Copper, who had 29 points in the Mercury’s win at Chicago on Thursday, finished with seven points on 2-for-11 shooting from the field. Angel Reese led the Sky with 19 points and a career-high 20 rebounds.
The rookie has 20 career double-doubles after 27 games, the fastest rate at the start of a career in WNBA history. Chennedy Carter finished with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists and Kamilla Cardoso finished with 12 points. Phoenix outscored Chicago 11-3 in the first quarter to take a 22-11 lead with four minutes left.
The Mercury built a 32-19 lead by the end of the first quarter. Taurasi had 12 points in the first quarter on 3-of-5 shooting from the field while making all five of her free-throw attempts. Phoenix scored the first seven points of the second quarter, capped by a put-back by Billings to increase the lead to 39-19 with 7:02 remaining until halftime.
