Sky shocks Shock
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The Detroit Shock's WNBA title defense won't be seriously damaged by Thursday's loss to the Chicago Sky.
It was the news that came before that game that will be a problem.
The Shock learned just before its 83-73 loss to the Sky that all-star forward Cheryl Ford will miss the rest of the regular season with a left knee injury. Ford injured the knee in June and aggravated it last Friday in Indiana.
"That's a done deal, so we've got to figure out how we go from here," Detroit coach Bill Laimbeer said.
Candice Dupree had 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Stacy Dales scored 16 for the Sky, which ended Detroit's seven-game winning streak.
"We really played well together," Sky coach Bo Overton said. "Stacey was shooting, Jia was outstanding and we always have Candice to go to when the going gets tough."
Ford refused to talk to the media after the game, but Shock trainer Laura Ramus said that the injury is not career-threatening.
"This isn't a situation like Amare Stoudemire, where they would do microfracture surgery -- Cheryl's problem isn't as severe," she said. "It might be three weeks or it might be six months, but when this heals, she should be the same player as she was before the injury."
Jia Perkins added 14 points for the Sky, which beat Detroit for the first time in franchise history. The Sky never trailed as it improved to 1-6 all-time against the Shock.
"This was kind of a revenge thing," Dupree said. "They've beaten us here and beaten us at home, so we wanted to come in and beat them."
The Sky blew a 15-point first-half lead before putting the game away with a second-half surge.
Ivory Latta and Katie Feenstra led Detroit with 13 points apiece, but All-Stars Swin Cash, Deanna Nolan and Braxton combined for just 14 points on 6-of-26 shooting. Nolan, who had a franchise-record 36 points in Detroit's win at Connecticut on Tuesday, went 2-for-14.
The Sky led 64-55 at the end of the third, and kept rolling in the fourth. Perkins hit a 3-pointer with 8:05 to play, giving the visitors a 14-point lead.
Phoenix Mercury at Chicago Sky
When: 7:30 p.m. today at UIC Pavilion
TV: Channel 11 Radio: WVON 1690-AM
The word: The Sky (11-13), which won at Detroit on Thursday, is coming off its best homestand in franchise history. Not only did the team post two consecutive home wins -- a first -- it beat the two best teams in each conference (Indiana and San Antonio). Now, the task is to neutralize one of the best players in the WNBA. All-star guard Diana Taurasi, best known for her magical collegiate seasons at Connecticut, leads a Mercury team that sits in third place in the Western Conference with a 14-10 record. Taurasi (18.0 ppg) isn't even the leading scorer on her team. Forward Penny Taylor is averaging 18.3 points and should provide a good challenge for Sky forward Candice Dupree, who is averaging a team-leading 17.9 points. Guard Jia Perkins has been dangerous off the bench for the Sky. She has averaged 19 points over the last 10 games.
Local girl: Mercury guard Cappie Pondexter, who starred in the public league at Marshall High School, returns to her hometown. She averages 16.1 points for Phoenix.
Next: Houston at UIC Pavilion, 5 p.m. Sunday
-- Patricia Babcock McGraw