Sky scouting report

Los Angeles Sparks (5-13) at Chicago Sky (9-11)

When: 7:30 p.m., today

Where: Allstate Arena

TV: CN100

Last time: On Tuesday, the Sparks defeated the Shock in Tulsa (87-71); on Wednesday, the Sky defeated the San Antonio Silver Stars at Allstate Arena (88-61).

Skinny: The Sky loves hosting Los Angeles because Sparks forward and former Naperville Central star Candace Parker always draws a big crowd in her hometown. And even though Parker is out for the rest of this season with a shoulder injury, there's still good reason for the Sky to greet this game with high anticipation. After rolling over San Antonio on Wednesday, the Sky has the chance to beef up on another struggling Western Conference team in the Sparks. Seattle, which owns the best record in the WNBA (17-2), is the only team in the Western Conference with a winning record. The Sky has seven of its next 10 games against teams from the West and if they all go the way of the San Antonio game, a playoff berth will be very much within reach-The Sky got double figures from five players against San Antonio, including 14 apiece from Sylvia Fowles, Jia Perkins and Epiphanny Prince. The Sky also won the rebounding war and had just 4 turnovers to San Antonio's 17. Even better, the Sky had leads as big as 28 points and did part of the damage when Fowles was on the bench in foul trouble-Parker averaged 20.6 points and 10.1 rebounds before her injury. With her out, the Sparks are led by veteran forwards Tina Thompson and DeLisha Milton-Jones, each of whom average about 13 points per game-Former Sky guard Kristi Toliver, who was traded to Los Angeles just before the start of the season, is averaging 9.2 points and ranks second on the Sparks with 22 3-pointers.

Next: Sky at Washington Mystics, 3 p.m. Sunday