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Sky-Silver Stars Preview

Jul 24, 2010 - 4:37 AM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Chicago (11-11) at San Antonio (8-13), 8:00 p.m. EDT

The Chicago Sky missed an opportunity to move above .500 and improve their playoff chances in their last game.

Despite being five games below the break-even mark, the San Antonio Silver Stars are feeling more confident about where they are in the standings after their most recent contest.

The Sky look for their second win against the Silver Stars this month when the teams meet Saturday night.

Chicago (11-12) remained in last place in the Eastern Conference after a 79-71 loss to New York on Friday. With the defeat, the Sky fell two games behind fourth-place Connecticut for the final playoff spot in the conference.

Chicago came in having won its previous three, holding opponents to 62.7 points, but the Liberty outscored the Sky 42-27 in the second half while shooting 9 of 19 from 3-point range.

Epiphanny Prince scored 14 points to lead the team, but Sylvia Fowles, who came in averaging 18.0 points, was held to 12 on 4-of-11 shooting, going 1 for 7 in the second half.

"I just rushed a lot of shots," Fowles said. "I never got into my own rhythm, and I think I tried to catch up all at once instead of chipping away at the score when we needed to, and I just didn't do it the right way."

While the Sky play their next five on the road, including four against Western Conference opponents, that might actually help the team. Chicago is 5-0 against teams from the West, including an 88-61 win at home over San Antonio on July 14. Five Sky players scored in double figures, including Fowles, who had 14 points in 18 minutes.

Despite having fewer wins than Chicago, the Silver Stars (8-13) are in a good position after winning two of three following a three-game losing streak. They defeated Minnesota 74-72 Thursday, helped by Sophia Young's two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining.

Chamique Holdsclaw led San Antonio with 17 points.

The win moved San Antonio into third place in the West - a half-game ahead of Minnesota, which occupies the final spot, and one-game behind second-place Phoenix.

"Our backs are against the wall a little bit in the West, so to get a road win against a team like this is huge," Holdsclaw said.

San Antonio's next three games are against East opponents, including road games at New York and Washington. The Silver Stars are 1-6 against the East.

Holdsclaw, who is averaging 15.3 points in her last four games, struggled against Chicago earlier this month, scoring six points.

The Silver Stars have won their last two home games against the Sky and overall are 3-1 against them.