Reserve guard Erin Thorn scores 15 points to lead Sky in 80-68 victory over struggling Sparks

Thorn leads Sky past struggling Sparks, 80-68

ROSEMONT, Ill. — Reserve guard Erin Thorn scored 15 points to lead the Chicago Sky to an 80-68 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday night.

Tamera Young, Dominique Canty and rookie Epiphanny Prince each scored 11 points, and Sylvia Fowles and Mistie Bassed added 10 for Chicago (10-11), which won for the fifth time in eight games.

DeLisha Milton-Jones had 21 points, Tina Thompson scored 15 and Noelle Quinn added 12 for the Sparks (5-14), who lost for the third time in four games.

Chicago opened a 30-19 lead early in the second quarter and maintained a double-digit advantage most of the rest of the way. Canty’s jumper gave the Sky a 69-48 lead, their biggest of the game, with about 6½ minutes left.

Candace Parker, who starred in high school in nearby Naperville before leading Tennessee to two national championships, sat on the Sparks bench. Parker is out for the season with a shoulder injury sustained last month.

After Ticha Penicheiro’s jumper gave the Sparks an 8-7 lead midway through the first quarter, the Sky scored nine consecutive points to take the lead for good.

Thorn’s 3 extended the lead to 35-21 with 7½ minutes left in the second quarter. Chicago scored nine consecutive points to open the fourth quarter to take their 21-point lead.