Double your fun with the Chicago Sky. With 18 points and 10 rebounds, rookie Rebekah Gardner recorded her first WNBA career double-double in Thursday night’s 80-68 win over the Los Angeles Sparks. Both figures were career highs for Gardner, who has been making a strong case for a Rookie of the Year nod. She has consistently put up double figures in scoring; she also leads the team in steals, averaging 1.5 per game as of Friday morning. Gardner is shooting 55 percent from the field, just a blip behind the team’s leader, Emma Meesseman, who’s shooting 55.4 percent.
Four Sky players, including Gardner, had points in double figures: Kahleah Copper, Allie Quigley, and Azurá Stevens. Stevens has wonderfully fulfilled a role that allows strength from off the bench. She set a new career-high for three-pointers made in a season with 29. Gardner’s performance is also a testimony to the length of the Sky bench and how they provide some much-needed second-half resilience.
The Sparks led for most of the first quarter, but the rest of the game ruled in favor for Chicago. The Sky indeed outscored the Sparks 43-14 in bench points; the Sky also tied a season-low in first-quarter scoring as they put up just 16 points. A Sky 13-5 run from 3:20 in the third quarter to 8:42 in the fourth quarter certainly helped solidify the dub, as the Sky dropped 31 points in the third quarter alone.
What’s on deck next for the most electrifying team in the WNBA? Wheels up for the Sky to Arlington, Texas to play the Dallas Wings on Saturday. Tip-off at College Park Center is at 7:00 p.m. CT and will be aired on Marquee Sports Network, CBS Sports Network, and Bally Sports Southwest Extra.