Parker makes home debut, Sky top Fever 92-76

Candace Parker made her long-awaited home debut for the Chicago Sky on Wednesday during a 92-76 victory over the Indiana Fever.

Parker, who missed eight games with an ankle injury, managed just 3 points on 1-of-9 shooting. She grabbed 5 rebounds, had 2 assists and committed 4 turnovers in almost 18 minutes of action.

In the big picture, the Naperville Central graduate was just excited to be back on the court after "rehabbing her (butt) off."

"I hope I'm nowhere near what I'm going to be," Parker said. "At 35 it's a different feeling. Like my ankle feels good, (but) my back is a little sore. I mean it's my knee (too). It's basically like starting back at training camp.

"I've had one practice and one workout and (now) I've played. It's getting the timing back. But it was amazing to be back on the court."

Parker looked good running the floor and opened the game with an impressive bounce pass to Kahleah Cooper. Her shot was off, however, and she was even stuffed by a Fever player in the second half.

Still, she stayed positive and reminded herself that scoring isn't everything.

"Just coming into this situation I want my energy to be positive, my energy to be there all the time no matter what's going on with me (or) my stat line," said Parker, who led Naperville Central to a pair of state titles and was named Illinois Ms. Basketball three straight times. "I think I brought the energy, I brought the effort and that's all that I can control."

In the WNBA, Parker has been a five-time all-star, a six-time first-team all-WNBA selection and was named Defensive Player of the Year last season.

Indiana was within 62-58 late in the third quarter, but Allie Quigley drained a 3-pointer to begin a 7-0 run that put the Sky up 69-58. Indiana (1-10) never truly threatened after that.

Courtney Vandersloot hit 6 of 12 field goals and led the Sky (3-7) with 17 points and a game-high 9 assists. The 11-year veteran is excited to see where the team can go from here with Parker back in the lineup.

"It's just different when she's out there and on the bench," Vandersloot said. "We're gonna use her, we appreciate her and it's just gonna get better from here."