Sky's season finale mirrors '08 season

Almost, but not quite.

It was a consistent theme for the Chicago Sky in 2008.

Over the course of its 22 losses this summer, the Sky lost twice in overtime and seven games by 6 points or fewer.

The way the Sky earned its final blemish of the season - a 79-76 loss to the Houston Comets on Sunday afternoon before 4,917 at the UIC Pavilion - looked all too familiar. It was a game that was there for the taking but fumbled away in the final minutes.

The Sky, eliminated from playoff contention after losing some of those dreaded close games in recent weeks, ends the season with a 12-22 record.

"Today was kind of a snapshot of us all season," Sky coach Steve Key said. "It's not like we just played Houston close, we played Detroit and Connecticut and Seattle and Los Angeles close, too. This should tell everyone that we are able to compete with all of those teams."

The Sky had slim leads throughout the fourth quarter but was never able to pull away. The Comets then went up 77-73 with 13.6 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Houston guard Shannon Johnson that looked like it could be the dagger.

But Sky forward Candice Dupree came back on the next possession and hit a desperation 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left to cut the deficit to 77-76.

Houston went up 79-76 on 2 Tina Thompson (game-high 26 points) free throws and the Sky had one last chance to tie it. But with only 2.4 seconds to work with, the Sky got nothing more than an off-balance shot from center Chasity Melvin that fell well short.

"We kept going back and forth with the lead and we had some good looks at the basket (late), but they fell short," said Dupree, who finished with a team-high 20 points. "We lost a lot of games like this and I think we could have done better. We just have to work on the mental part."

Sky rookie center Sylvia Fowles left the game in the third quarter after taking an elbow to the neck. She did not return to the game or the bench, but team officials said she would be fine.