Seattle falls to Sky’s hot shooting, 107-75

EVERETT, wash. – Most days, hot shooting opponents eventually cool off against the Seattle Storm.

Sunday wasn’t one of those days. And the Chicago Sky was not one of those opponents.

Candace Parker 25 points poured, and the sky shot 56 percent off the ground – including 68 percent behind the 3-point arch – and ushered the storm into Angel Of The Winds Arena, 107-75

Breanna Stewart led Seattle (18-10) with 19 points and hit 8 of their 16 shots from the field. Jordan Canada, which made its third start to the year, added a season high of 17 points.

But none of those efforts were enough to stop the Storm from absorbing their third straight loss as they chase Connecticut and Las Vegas for a top two playoff spots. They are within reach, three games behind leaders Sun (20-6) and two games on runner-up Aces (19-7).

The Sky (14-12), who swept the weekend with two games in Seattle and ended up winning all three games of the season series, hit 41 of their 73 shots from the field. This included 15 out of 22 from the city center. Her first seven long ones all went in – and all in the first quarter.

After flipping the ball on his first possession, Chicago scored a goal on his next six trips down the field and built a 16-8 lead.

The Storm stayed in it and was 31-23 within eight before heading into the second quarter. But Chicago put on a 13-5 run in the first 2 minutes and 46 seconds of that period to take a 42-28 lead. The margin stayed in double digits for the rest of the day

Seattle have stepped up their shootout from Friday’s 73-69 loss to Heaven. In this, the storm hit only 36.8 percent (25 of 68). On Sunday they were 45.3 percent (29 of 64), slightly above the seasonal mark of 44.5.

Along with Stewart’s 8 out of 16, Canada drained 6 out of 9 and Sue Bird, who scored eight points, hit 3-out-of-5, including 2-out-of-4 from a long distance. Additionally, three of Seattle’s five reserves reached 50 percent or more.

The Storm, with four regular season games remaining, returns home against the New York Liberty on Thursday. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. (JOEtv).