Dupree's 3s gives Chicago Sky win over Dream

Look, Mom!

And look out WNBA.

Chicago Sky forward Candice Dupree, one of the best post players in the women's game, has added a 3-point shot.

And with her mother, Patty, in Friday night for a rare visit from Tampa, Fla., Dupree unleashed it in a big way on the unsuspecting Atlanta Dream.

Dupree, who entered this season having made only 1 of 17 3-point attempts in her three-year career, looked guard-like at times in the Sky's regular-season home opener. She was 3 of 5 from beyond the arc en route to scoring a game-high 23 points in the Sky's 81-73 victory over the Dream in front of 5,689 at the UIC Pavilion.

The victory is the first of the season for the Sky (1-1), a welcome change of fortune after an embarrassing 17-point loss (102-85) at Minnesota last weekend in the season opener.

"Considering we lost by like 20 in the first game, this is a huge win for us," Dupree said. "To win at home on opening night is big."

Hitting those 3s was big, too. They came early and gave the Sky huge streams of momentum.

"Somebody had to do it," Dupree said with a laugh. "Mostly, (Atlanta) left me wide open. I can't miss wide-open shots. I was feeling good. And my mom's in town. I always have to play well while she's around."

Dupree's teammates were showing off for Mom, too.

Despite suffering a minor elbow injury in the first half that sent her to the locker room to regroup, 6-foot-6 center Sylvia Fowles pounded in 18 points. Jia Perkins, who led the Sky in scoring last year with 17 points a game, hit her mark against the Dream with 17 points.

The Sky was up by as many as 14 and never trailed. But the lead did dwindle to as few as 4 in the fourth quarter.

"We would have liked to have closed out better," Sky coach Steven Key said. "But it's a win at home and we'll take it."

The Sky will take its better defensive performance, too. Not only did the Sky give up 29 fewer points than against Minnesota, it held six-time WNBA all-star Chamique Holdsclaw to 7 points.

Iziane Castro Marques led the Dream with 20 points.