Chicago Sky top Stars in blowout fashion

Close games have become a Chicago Sky staple.

And while that may be exciting for the fans, it's not necessarily always enjoyable for the players or coaches.

The Sky leads the WNBA with 15 games decided by 6 or fewer points. And of those 15 games, 11 have come down to the final minute.

Friday's game against the Seattle Storm fit into that category. The Sky won by 4 points, but only after losing a 20-point lead and then franticly trying to secure the win in the last moments.

The story was refreshingly different on Sunday. The Sky turned a close game into a blowout, a 97-73 win over the struggling San Antonio Stars.

"(The close games) I think (will prepare the Sky for the playoffs)," Sky coach Pokey Chatman said. "Not that you want to do that by design. You can see the body language and the comfort and confidence that we have been there before (in close games). There's not a lot of panic (in those games).

"But we would much rather have it like this, and win going away."

The Sky moves to 15-13 on the season and into the fourth seed in the playoff picture. San Antonio drops to 6-22, worst record in the WNBA.

The Sky was led by star forward Elena Delle Donne, who scored a game-high 35 points in helping the Sky to its fourth straight win, a streak that began coming out of the Olympic break.

"We're trying to clinch the playoffs," said Delle Donne, who hit 3-of-4 three-pointers. "It's really exciting that we've been able to get these (four) wins. We need that momentum to keep pushing forward. The confidence is there."

The Sky, which shot 52 percent from the field overall and 56 percent from 3-point range, was up by only 4 points at halftime (51-47) but extended that to 8 points at the end of the third quarter and then blew the doors off by starting the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run.

"Defensively for us, we weren't dictating as much in the first half," Chatman said. "We made some adjustments at halftime and our players became a lot more aggressive. Offensively, we've shown we are a pretty good team and can score the basketball."

Tamera Young, Imani Boyette and Cappie Pondexter all finished with 10 points apiece for the Sky, which had 23 assists on 34 made baskets. Pondexter, who had 5 assists, moved into eighth place on the WNBA's all-time assists leader list.

Monique Currie topped San Antonio with 20 points while rookie Moriah Jefferson added 18 points.