LAS VEGAS — The Sky needed momentum heading into the All-Star and Olympic break.
They found it when the ball was tipped Tuesday night against the Aces. After opening the game on an 11-2 run, the Sky extended their lead to 21 midway through the second quarter.
They closed the game on a 15-6 run to end the first half of the season with a 93-85 win against the Aces.
“It’s always good to get a win under your belt and just try to build off that momentum,” Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon said. “Now you got a chance to take that when we come back and build off of it.
“It’s a great win for us, a great confidence booster. So we just want to build off of that going into the second half of our season.”
Chennedy Carter finished with a game-high of 34 points, a season high and one point shy of her career high. Playing against six Olympians on the Aces, Carter was the top performer of the night.
Late in the fourth quarter, Angel Reese approached Carter and said, “Show me that you want it.” Carter scored 10 points in the final 10 minutes.
“I’m getting comfortable,” Carter said. “[Weatherspoon] is allowing me to make mistakes by keeping me in the game. She’s letting me be me, and that’s benefiting myself, but it’s benefiting the team as well.
“I don’t see any error out there. I just see red and want to go play hard.”
Reese started a new double-double streak, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds. She was a plus-26 in 35 minutes.
“That’s huge,” Weatherspoon said. “It’s crazy. We look at plus and minuses. We always do. It’s a big thing to take a look at. When you’re plus-26 it says a lot about your work. It says a lot about your work and what you’re doing, being about the smallest details of the game.”
The Sky probably will look different in the second half of the season. Sources have said the Sky are entertaining trade talks involving guard Dana Evans. When it comes to the impending changes, Weatherspoon said she’s not giving it any attention.
“We’re going in like we are,” Weatherspoon said. “That’s the way we’re approaching things. I’m not speaking about anything like that. It’s not even on my mind.”