Sky tops Mercury in opener

SKY 91

MERCURY 77

PHOENIX — Kahleah Copper scored 22 points, Allie Quigley added 18 and the hot-shooting Chicago Sky opened the WNBA Finals with a 91-77 victory over the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.

The Sky withstood Phoenix’s fast start and took control with a 21-2 run spanning halftime to go up 17. Courtney Vandersloot scored 12 points with 11 assists, helping Chicago shoot 53% and snatch home-court advantage from the Mercury in the best-offive series.

Game 2 is Wednesday in Phoenix.

The Mercury played without guards Kia Nurse (torn ACL) and Sophie Cunningham (left calf strain), and the lack of depth seemed to hurt them against one of the WNBA’s best offensive teams.

Brittney Griner scored 20 points and Diana Taurasi 17 for the Mercury, which pulled within eight late before running out of steam and time.

The 2021 WNBA Finals is the first for both franchises since the Mercury swept the Sky in 2014.

It’s also a showdown between two of the sport’s all-time greats still at the top of their games.

A three-time WNBA champion and the league’s all-time leading scorer, the 39-year-old Taurasi took over down the stretch of Game 5 against Las Vegas, scoring 14 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter. She was voted the greatest player in the WNBA’s 25-history by the fans in ceremony before the game.

Parker, a two-time league MVP, returned home to Chicago this season after playing her first 13 seasons in Los Angeles and has been a key reason the Sky reached the finals, finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the clinching game against Connecticut in the semifinals. The 35-yearold was honored as one of the WNBA’s greatest players during a ceremony after the first quarter of Game 1.

Taurasi kick-started Phoenix’s hot start to the final with two early 3s, helping the Mercury build an early nine-point lead.