Defense carries Sky to easy victory over Mystics

As she left the podium and exited the media room, Sky coach Pokey Chatman repeated several times: "That was fun!"

Doubtful, though, that Chatman was talking about her postgame news conference following Wednesday afternoon's 85-57 victory over the Washington Mystics at Allstate Arena.

But Chatman certainly had fun watching her team do just about everything right in its fourth straight win.

The Sky, sitting in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 9-5 record, scored nearly at will while putting together one of its best defensive games of the season. The Mystics shot just 33 percent from the field, turned the ball over 15 times, resulting in 18 Sky points. They also had 12 shots blocked and became the first opponent this season to score less than 60 points.

"The Achilles' heel early for us in the season has been defense," Chatman said. "We've put together several games over the last week or so where we're starting to lock in (defensively) with commitment to the schemes, knowing our personnel and also marrying that to rebounding, which allows us to get out and run.

"The scoring (for the Sky) often comes in transition so we want to get stops and that feeds into (pride on defense). You don't have to sell the (importance of) defense. It's real."

The offense was very real, too. Then again, it always is for the best offensive team in the WNBA. The Sky leads the league in scoring (85.9 ppg), field goal percentage (. 466) and free throw percentage (. 864).

Ten of 11 players who got playing time against the Mystics scored at least one basket, led by reserves Allie Quigley and Jamierra Faulkner, who scored 15 and 12 points respectively. Overall, the Sky bench scored 42 points, its most of the season.

"These past few games, my confidence is where it needs to be," said Faulkner, a backup point guard. "It comes with my coaches and teammates believing in me."

Quigley, who was the WNBA's sixth woman of the year last season, had her best game off the bench this season. She hit 7-of-13 shots and also finished with 3 assists.

"It feels good knowing that you're contributing," Quigley said. "When our bench can contribute like that, it's always going to be a positive."

Three starters scored in double-figures for the Sky, which led by as many as 31 points midway through the fourth quarter. Guard Cappie Pondexter had 14 points in 22 minutes and forward Elena Delle Donne and center Clarissa Dos Santos each finished with 11 points. For Dos Santos, who had 8 points in the first quarter, was just one point shy of her season-high.

Center Stefanie Dolson topped Washington (6-6) with 15 points while forward Tierra Ruffin-Pratt added 13 points. The Sky held forward Emma Meesseman, the Mystics' leading scorer (14.3 ppg) to just 7 points.

Next game: Sky at Minnesota Lynx, 7 p.m. Friday