LOS ANGELES — The Sky drafted Kamilla Cardoso with the third overall pick in April because they believed she would dominate in the WNBA one day.
That dominance is already starting to appear as Cardoso was the difference playing arguably her best game so far in the Sky’s 90-86 victory Saturday against the Sparks.
“I just listen to my coaches and teammates,” Cardoso said. “They show me love and support. It makes me confident to go out there in a great way.”
While the team won, it was by no means a pretty game.
For three quarters, the Sparks were in control, taking a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Sky gave up 20 points off of 14 turnovers, but coach Teresa Weatherspoon said she could live with that.
“I can be OK with that because we’re aggressive,” Weatherspoon said. “We’re doing what we’re asked to do and we’re turning it over. So we learn from where the ball should have gone or what pass should have been made.”
It helped that the Sky were able to nullify their turnovers by scoring 19 points of their own off of 10 Sparks turnovers.
But the Sky really turned it on in the fourth quarter, ripping off a 25-8 run sparked by their inside game. Cardoso finished with 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting, 14 rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Angel Reese added 14 points (4-for-13) and 11 rebounds, and Lindsay Allen (7-for-11) had a game-high 16 points, six assists and four rebounds.
Chennedy Carter was back, but the Sky’s leading scorer was not her usual high-flying self, finishing with just nine points and five rebounds off the bench. In the fourth quarter, it was the Sky’s ability to get to the rim that made the biggest difference.
The Sky outscored the Sparks 50-34 in the paint.
“We were all disappointed in how we played Thursday,” Allen said. “Disappointed in our effort, intensity, our disruption on defense and just everything across the board. We wanted to come out and just play differently, have different energy.”
Cardoso continues to show flashes of the nightmare she’s going to be for opponents.
She scored a season-high 16 points against the Fever back in June. She had two double-figure scoring nights in both of the Sky’s games against the Dream, who are anchored by future Hall-of-Fame center Tina Charles. Her growth has not gone unrecognized by her teammates.
“It’s all about her being active,” Allen said. “Her length is something we rely on a lot. When she’s active, defending hard, running hard, posting up hard every possession it really makes a difference for us as you can see.”
The Sparks offered little to slow down Cardoso. Aside from 6-7 center Li Yueru who only played 16 minutes, Cardoso proved to be a matchup nightmare for the Sparks’ lengthy stretch forwards.
Cardoso does need to hone her physicality. She ended up fouling out in the final minute in what could have been a game-changing foul. Her sixth foul came against Sparks forward Rae Burrell on a three-point attempt. Burrell missed one of her three free-throw attempts, which gave the Sky the added cushion of it being a two-possession game when they were fouled on the ensuing possession.