Fowles, Murphy lead Sky past Fever
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Sylvia Fowles had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Shay Murphy also scored a career-high 21 points and the Chicago Sky beat the Indiana Fever 88-69 on Sunday.
Cathrine Kraayeveld added 12 points and Tamera Young had 10 for the Sky (10-12), who had lost seven straight against the Fever. Chicago shot 50 percent (8 for 16) on 3-pointers.
"It just felt good to knock down shots and stay aggressive," Murphy said. "Offensively, we knew that they would be collapsing on Syl. It was great to get some open looks and take care of business on both ends of the floor."
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Katie Douglas scored 14 points and Tangela Smith had 10 for first-place Indiana (15-7), which had won six straight overall. Fever starTamika Catchings was held to eight points — 6.2 below her average — on 2-for-6 shooting.
"Chicago is very good, it does not surprise me at all as hard as they played they are playing for a playoff spot," Fever coach Lin Dunn said. "They outworked us, outhustled us, they beat us up and down the floor and I am very disappointed in our effort, very disappointed in our energy.
"They played like a team they wants a playoff spot and we played like a team that is resting waiting for the playoffs."
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Chicago led 35-34 at halftime and used a big third quarter to take command. Kraayeveld hit a three 3-pointers to help the Sky to a 60-47 lead by the end of the third.
Chicago led by as many as 16 points in the final quarter and only once saw its lead slip under double digits.
"It was very nice to be at home, versus a good team that we have not played well against," Sky coach Pokey Chatman said. "They pose some matchup problems, but it was nice to see our players adjust to some of those problems."
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Fowles had 15 points and eight rebounds by halftime, including the final three points of the second quarter as the Sky led by one.
"We just need to continue to tell ourselves to lock in mentally, slow down, and take care of the ball," Fowles said.
The Sky made only 1 of their first 8 shots to start the game while Indiana opened a 12-6 lead. But Chicago dominated the final 2:03 with a 12-0 run to hold an 18-15 lead entering the second quarter.
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The Fever came into the game with two wins over the Sky, seven straight in the series and an 18-4 advantage all-time.
Sunday's game was the 200th straight for Sky starter Michelle Snow, the 16th longest streak in WNBA history.