CHICAGO SKY 75, CHARLOTTE STING 69

Charlotte’s bid for a second straight win came up short in Chicago on Thursday as they fell to the Sky, 75-69, in the final game of a four-game road trip.

Coming of a 73-67 win at New York on Tuesday, the Sting came out of the gate confident, connecting on their first three shots to build a 9-2 lead on the Sky. Charlotte could not sustain the momentum though as the Sky picked up their intensity on both ends of the floor.

Charlotte’s shooting became ice cold as they connected on only three of their final 11 shots of the period. The Sky took full advantage of the Sting’s miscues, ending the quarter on 20-9 run to take a four-point lead at the end of the first 10 minutes of play.

The Sky, who came into tonight’s game without a win at home, was firing on all cylinders as the second quarter got underway. The worst field goal shooting team in the league, Chicago connected on six straight field goals to start the second quarter and extend their lead to 11 with 4:46 remaining in the half.

The Sting, behind a layup from Tangela Smith, cut the deficit to seven as the two teams headed into the lockerroom.

Charlotte was able to pull within four in the third, but the Sky always seemed to have an answer as they pushed their lead back to double figures.

Trailing by 11 with 6:22 left in the game, the Sting attempted to mount a furious comeback. A layup by Tammy Sutton-Brown followed by a three-point play from Sheri Sam helped spark a 12-3 Sting run that brought Charlotte to within two with 1:56 remaining.

The Sting couldn’t get any closer though as they committed their 16th turnover of the game and missed six shots in the closing 1:28 of the contest. On the other end, the Sky connected on six free throws to capture their second win of the season.

While the Sky took advantage of Charlotte’s turnovers converting them into 17 points, Chicago did a good job of holding onto the ball as they committed a season-low seven turnovers.

Rookie Candice Dupree led the Sky with 15 points and seven rebounds while Jia Perkins and Deanna Jackson both finished with 10.

Monique Currie led the way for Charlotte with 15, 12 of which came in the second half. Smith tallied 13 while Sam and Sutton-Brown each added 12 for the Sting.

Charlotte returns home to face the defending WNBA Champion Sacramento Monarchs on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

HEAD COACH MUGGSY BOGUES SAYS... (On turnovers) They played a huge role in the game. Chicago is a high-energy team and they showed that tonight. (On the team) Our team is much better than that. They have a lot of talent. They are just not being consistent. (On Monique Currie’s play in the second half) She got aggressive. She didn’t want to lose and she tried to make plays for us. INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM MONIQUE CURRIE (On the game) They played harder that we did. It’s hard play catch up in this league. They were doing all the little things. You can’t take any teams for granted in the league. (On the turnovers) That shows why we lost the game. We just have to have a better effort. We can’t give up. We have to continue to practice hard. We’re a good basketball team.

June 29, 2006 Team 1 2 3 4 TOT CHA 18 22 15 18 69 CHI 22 21 16 16 75 STAR OF THE GAME MONIQUE CURRIE 15 points 3 rebounds 4 assists SUB OF THE GAME JANEL MCCARVILLE 4 points 3 rebounds STAT OF THE GAME TURNOVERS Charlotte - 16 Chicago - 7 HUSTLE BOARD Team REB STL BLK TOT CHA 34 5 5 44 CHI 31 7 4 42