The San Antonio Stars have not found their footing on the road this season. Coming into Sunday’s game with eight losses away from Texas and players dealing with nagging injuries, turning around their fortunes would not be an easy task. Then there is Elena Delle Donne.
Delle Donne had 29 points and and 13 rebounds as she led the Chicago Sky past the Stars 93-82 in front of 5,011 fans inside Allstate Arena on Sunday afternoon.
“I just felt more in an attack mode today after getting rebounds,” Delle Donne said. “I was just pushing it and trying to attack and getting them a different look. That’s something I’m going to continue to try and do.”
Courtney Vandersloot added 14 points and Allie Quigley chipped in 15 for Chicago (10-6), who won their fifth straight and swept their season series with San Antonio for the first time since 2010.
The Stars were led by Danielle Adams’ 20 points off the bench as she shot 50 percent from the floor. Sophia Young-Malcolm added 18 points and Danielle Robinson chipped in 13 for San Antonio, who remain winless on the road at 0-9.
“I thought we made progress in the second half, but you’ve got to give Chicago credit,” San Antonio head coach Dan Hughes said. “They came out of the gate strong, they shot the ball extremely well, and [Elena] Delle Donne made a variety of plays. She goes inside, she works off the glass, and she hurt us in isolation. She played extremely well.”
San Antonio got Kayla McBride back after she missed the past five games with a foot injury. She had 14 points and four assists in 21 minutes. The silver and black were still without Jia Perkins (calf) and Alex Montgomery (knee) and both are expected to be out until after the All-Star break.
“I think we started off the season really poorly, and right now I feel like we’re working on team chemistry and talking more,” Young-Malcolm said. “We’re working and playing with each other a lot better by knowing what each player can do and that’s helping our team chemistry.”
The Stars are now 4-12 on the season and will return to the court on Tuesday morning when they welcome the Indiana Fever to the Freeman Coliseum at 11:30 a.m. for a Camp Day game.
