Parker's the star, but Sky get the best of Sparks

Technically, the date wasn't circled on Shyra Ely's calendar. But it might as well have been.

Ely, a reserve forward for the Chicago Sky, was determined to play well Wednesday with the Los Angeles Sparks in town. Sure, she wanted to help the Sky win, but she also wanted to get the best of a sibling rivalry of sorts.

Call it the sisterhood of the Tennessee Lady Vols.

Ely was a senior at Tennessee in 2005 when a certain freshman from Naperville was getting all kinds of attention there.

Of course, that freshman was Candace Parker, now a forward with the Sparks and one of the WNBA's biggest stars. So big, in fact, that one could argue she was single-handedly responsible for drawing many of the 5,633 fans who packed the UIC Pavilion.

"Candace redshirted (due to a knee injury) my senior year, so we really didn't play together all that much, but let's just say we're - acquainted," laughed Ely, recalling her Tennessee days with Parker. "It was really good to see her tonight.

"I was pumped for this game, for the circumstances (of going against Parker). I wanted to play well."

And that she did.

Ely scored a season-high 16 points in leading the Sky to a 75-63 victory over the Sparks that spoiled Parker's much-hyped homecoming and gave her a leg up against Parker in the "rivalry."

The win also broke a two-game losing streak for the Sky, which moves to 9-10 overall.

"I had a different mindset going into this game," said Ely, who is averaging 4.9 points per game this season. Her 16 points tie a career high. "You want to play well when you're going against (another Tennessee) alum."

Meanwhile, Parker, Tennessee's most famous Lady Vol basketball alum, was playing in just her sixth game after missing the first five weeks of the season due to maternity leave.

There were many times it showed.

Parker, who was plagued with foul trouble in the first half, grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, but hit just 4-of-12 shots on her way to 9 points.

"Honestly, it's about putting one foot in front of the other sometimes," Parker said of the process of getting back into peak playing condition after the birth of her first child, daughter Lailaa. "But all excuses aside, you still have to bring it every night.

"It just seemed like we couldn't get it going, and I need to learn to refocus and do other things. It's frustrating when you struggle but you just have to take it in stride."

The Sparks, who were missing legendary veteran center Lisa Leslie (knee injury), dropped their fifth game in the last seven and, at 5-10, fall further out of the playoff race in the competitive Western Conference.

The Sky, meanwhile, is still positioned in fourth place in the East, which means that if the season ended today, the franchise would secure its very first playoff spot.

"It's great for us to start the second half of the season with a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence," Ely said. "We need to keep winning. We're a playoff team. We have a lot of potential."

The Sky also got double figures from three other players, including a game-high 18 points from Jia Perkins. Center Sylvia Fowles, who was often matched up against Parker, added 13 points and guard Dominique Canty finished with 12 points.

DeLisha Milton-Jones led Los Angles with 15 points.

The CP3 effect

Even in a loss, Los Angeles Sparks forward and Naperville native Candace Parker can still come out looking like a winner. Here are three things that happened at the UIC Pavilion on Wednesday night that make Candace, well, Candace.

1. She patiently signed dozens of autographs and took countless photos with adoring fans, mostly young girls, before the game, and again after, too.

2. The Sky, once again, hit the attendance jackpot with Parker in town. The crowd of 5,633 was the Sky's second-best in franchise history, second only to last year's top crowd of 6,304 when Parker made her first trip to Chicago as a pro.

3. Despite struggling offfensively, Parker still put her nose to the grindstone and came up with a game-high 10 rebounds, proving she's a team player and not above also doing the dirty work.

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