Chicago Sky have some fun ending losing streak

It was a fun postgame news conference Tuesday night.

One of the most fun of the season thus far.

And, quite honestly, the details of the Chicago Sky's 81-75 victory over the San Antonio Stars at the Allstate Arena to end a three-game losing streak pretty much took a back seat.

There were too many other interesting things to talk about: like a great body of work … and some great bodies in general.

Veteran guard Cappie Pondexter, a native of Chicago and a former Marshall High School star, was honored before the game for recently being named to the WNBA's Top 20@20 list, which is honoring the best 20 players in the 20-year history of the league.

"This means a great deal to me," said Pondexter, an 11-year veteran who received 20 red roses from the Sky before tipoff. "I never imagined coming into the WNBA that I would be a part of history. It's overwhelming because I'm amongst people (Ticha Penicheiro, Lisa Leslie, Tina Thompson, Sheryl Swoopes, Cynthia Cooper) that I grew up looking up to.

"I grew up watching them. To be among that elite level of women, it's an honor. I feel blessed. Today was a great day."

The day was a rather interesting one for star forward Elena Delle Donne.

She vacillated between feeling pride and sheepishness over news earlier in the day that ESPN Magazine officially announced the names of the athletes who will be included in its famed "body issue."

Delle Donne is one of them. She did her photo shoot during the off-season and said that it was "way harder" than playing in any basketball game.

The issue, due on newsstands in early July, features chiseled athletes posing naked with very little strategically covered. Delle Donne's "work" in the issue got plenty of talk time during the news conference.

"I knew someone would ask me about this," Delle Donne said with a big grin as coach Pokey Chatman and Pondexter, sitting next to her, erupted in laughter. "Ummm. I'm really embarrassed right now.

"But, no, it was a really cool shoot. I was extremely nervous about it. But it was awesome. You know, we pour so much into our bodies that it's such a celebration of the body, and I've always thought the magazine was really cool. They asked me to be a part of it, and I accepted. I just had to get over the redness."

The Sky (6-7) had a hard time getting over the Stars, the worst team in the league with a 2-10 record.

Trailing by a point with about three minutes left in the third quarter, the Sky closed on an 11-4 run and never trailed again. But San Antonio cut its deficit to 2 points twice in the game's final two minutes.

Both Delle Donne and Pondexter made big plays down the stretch. Delle Donne finished with a game-high 23 points, while Pondexter added 15.

Rookie center Imani Boyette (11) and point guard Jamierra Faulkner (10) also scored in double figures off the bench.

The Sky needed the win, ugly or not, having just returned from a four-game road trip on which it went 1-3.

"You want to get a win," Chatman said. "It doesn't matter if it's ugly. It's nice to be home again and share the basketball and do some of the things you normally do."

Rookie guard Moriah Jefferson, with 20 points, led three players in double figures for San Antonio.