Loss puts cloud over Sky heading into all-star break

With ice on her shoulder and knees, Chicago Sky guard Dominique Canty didn't have to think twice.

"Will you even touch a basketball during the all-star break," she was asked.

"No way," Canty answered emphatically, and with a sly smile on her face. "I'm going to rest."

While this weekend's WNBA all-star break is coming at the perfect time for players who are aching and fatigued, it comes at a horrible time for a team that didn't seize an opportunity.

That would be the Sky, which has to sit with that thought for five whole days.

The Indiana Fever paid another visit to the Allstate Arena on Tuesday night and blew the doors open in the first half, going up by as many as 18 points.

But the Sky, which shot an anemic 19 percent in the first half, fought and clawed and tied the game up with a fiery third quarter that woke up its fans and turned a surefire loss into a chance at a third straight victory.

Unfortunately for the Sky, that chance became more remote with each passing minute of the fourth quarter.

Like a prized fighter, Indiana kept taking the Sky's best punches and would not relent.

The defending Eastern Conference champions weathered 26 points and 18 rebounds from Sky center Sylvia Fowles and escaped Rosemont with a 58-51 victory, their fourth over the Sky this season.

Indiana, which got 16 points from former Stevenson High School star Tamika Catchings to move to 10-6, will attempt to sweep the five-game series between the two teams later this month in Indianapolis.

Meanwhile, the Sky, which has won four of six games, saw its current winning streak end at two games. The Sky fell to 8-10.

"I'm just happy we didn't give up," said Canty, who after Fowles was the Sky's next leading scorer with just 7 points.

"I'd be even more upset right now if we did. I'm proud of my teammates for that. We kept fighting and showed a lot of character and a lot of heart.

"We just have to learn from this and play from the beginning. We used all of our energy coming back. It's hard to keep that pace up against that kind of team."

Despite being much more offensive-minded and outscoring Indiana 22-6 in the third quarter, the Sky still wound up shooting 28 percent for the game. Even Fowles, normally a 64 percent field-goal shooter, hit on just 9 of 22 shots.

"We were rushing," said Fowles, the only Sky player who will participate in this weekend's WNBA all-star game. "Indiana is an overly aggressive defensive team and they can do that to you."