With 17 points, Smith leads Shock past Sky, 76-67

A question was asked about consistency and Candice Dupree's ears perked up.

"My word for the season is consistency," the Sky forward said Saturday night in a postgame interview session with reporters.

Consistency is what the Sky seeks, but so far, this team has been much more about inconsistency.

This season, the Sky has been known to win a couple games and then lose a couple, or play well in one half and badly in another.

The latter is what happened in the Sky's latest roller-coaster ride, a 76-67 defeat at the hands of the struggling Detroit Shock in front of 5,167 fans at UIC Pavilion.

After enjoying leads as big as 8 points in the first half, the Sky, playing its second straight game without starting center Sylvia Fowles (day to day with a sprained ankle), tanked after the break.

Up 51-42 in the early moments of the third quarter, the Sky watched Detroit hit wide-open shots, including 4 three-pointes, en route to an 18-0 run. That gave Detroit a 60-51 advantage with about a minute left before the end of the quarter.

The Sky narrowed the gap a bit in the fourth quarter, but not enough. Similar circumstances led to the Sky's loss at home Tuesday to the Phoenix Mercury. The Sky was up, then went to sleep.

With only seven games left, the Sky is 13-14 and losing ground in its bid to earn its first playoff berth in franchise history. Entering the game, the Sky was tied with Washington for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"It was a lack of focus defensively," Sky coach Steven Key explained. "(Detroit) got 5 wide-open shots, 2 or 3 because we weren't paying attention. We're not focused enough to remember what we're doing defensively. I don't have another plan for that. That has to come from within."

Katie Smith rolled up 13 points and hit 3 three-pointers during Detroit's 18-0 run. She finished with a team-high 17 points for the defending WNBA champions, who improve to 10-14.

Dupree led the Sky with 20 points. Tamera Young, who was traded from Atlanta last week, was the only other Sky player to finish in double figures. She had 14 points.

"I honestly don't know what the problem is. You see bright spots, at the beginning of the game, in other games. And then we lose it," Dupree said. "We have seven games left. I feel like there's no motivation, no sense of urgency and this is our first time to potentially make the playoffs. You would think people would rise to the occasion and pick it up but it almost feels like people are falling back."