Chicago Sky bounces back in a big way with rout of Mercury

A strong response was needed.

And on Sunday, the Chicago Sky was flexing its collective muscle all over the place.

Fans at Wintrust Arena couldn't have asked for a better bounceback effort from the Sky after its lackluster showing Thursday in a loss to the struggling Dallas Wings, a team that has been decimated by injuries and eliminated from the playoff picture.

Sky head coach James Wade questioned the effort level of his players after that game.

Sunday against Phoenix, the only question was "can the Sky possibly play this well the rest of the way?"

The Sky went from sluggish against Dallas to practically unstoppable against Phoenix en route to a dominating, and season-high in scoring, 105-78 victory in the last home game of the regular season.

The Sky's biggest lead was 27 points.

"I think it affected them (Sky players), and it bothered everyone in terms of how we felt like we let one (the Dallas game) go," Wade said. "I think the sense of urgency was at an all-time high to get things done (against Phoenix). We played with the extra energy and the extra pep that we needed and hopefully it can stay there."

Six players scored in double figures for the Sky, led by bigs Astou Ndour and Cheyenne Parker, both with 18 points.

Now 19-13, and in fifth place in the WNBA standings before the game, the Sky is still in position to earn a top-four seed in the playoffs, which provides a first-round bye. Phoenix (15-16) sits in eighth place and was the last team to qualify for a playoff spot.

"When we're at a razor-sharp focus, our team is unstoppable," said Parker, who was 7 of 13 from the field, 2-for-2 from 3-point range and also hauled down 8 rebounds. "We have so many weapons. If we keep that same energy and that same level of focus, I think we're going to make a lot of noise in the playoffs."

The Sky qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2016, in Wade's first year as a head coach in the WNBA.

Point guard Courtney Vandersloot, who leads the WNBA in assists (9 apg) and finished with 9 points and 13 assists, is having an MVP season, while the offense ranks as one of the best in the league.

Diamond DeShields (15 points), Allie Quigley (12 points), Kahleah Copper (11 points) and Stefanie Dolson (10 points) also added double figures for the Sky.

Phoenix center Brittney Griner, the No. 1 scorer in the WNBA (20.5 ppg) poured in a game-high 26 points but was held in much better check in the second half. She scored 20 of her points in the first half and was terrorizing the Sky defense. Thanks in large part to Griner, the Sky had just a 1-point lead (54-53) at the break.

"Coach just wanted us to stop (Griner) early, try to keep her from catching the ball," Parker said. "And then obviously crowd her when she does catch it."

The Mercury also got 12 points from DeWanna Bonner, the third-best scorer in the league at 18.1 ppg, and 10 points from reserve guard Essence Carson. Guard Diana Taurasi, the WNBA's all-time leading scorer, had just 3 points on 1-of-5 shooting. But she is working her way back into the groove after missing 26 games with a back injury.

It is possible that the Sky would face the Mercury again in the first round of the playoffs. But the Sky does have the chance to jump a few spots in the seedings if it can close out with road wins next week against the two top teams in the WNBA, Washington and Connecticut.