Chennedy Carter scored seven of her 28 points in the first few minutes Sunday and the Chicago Sky never trailed in their 92-77 win over the Dallas Wings at Wintrust Arena.
The Sky (13-22) has a one-game lead game over the Atlanta Dream for the eighth and final playoff spot with five games remaining in their regular season.
Carter, the No. 4 pick in the 2020 WNBA draft, made 10-of-17 from the field, hit her only 3-point attempt, went 7 of 9 from the free-throw line and finished with six assists. The 5-foot-9 guard returned Friday from a four-game absence due to illness and helped the Sky beat the Los Angeles Sparks 92-78 to snap their seven-game losing streak.
The Wings (9-26) have lost four games in a row following a three-game winning streak.
Isabelle Harrison made her first start of the season and finished with a season-high 21 points and nine rebounds for the Sky and Kamilla Cardoso added 11 rebounds to go with 10 points. Dana Evans scored 11, including three 3-pointers, and Michaela Onyenwere added 10 points for the Sky.
Carter scored 11 points in the first quarter, and the Sky used a 13-1 run midway through the period to blow the game open. Carter’s free throw just before the buzzer gave the Sky a 33-19 lead going into the second period.
Arike Ogunbowale led the Wings with 23 points and Natasha Howard scored 17. Satou Sabally finished with 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Ogunbowale scored 16 points and combined with Satou Sabally for 28 of the Wings’ 35 first-half points.
Record-setting rookie Angel Reese did not play for the Sky after suffering a season-ending wrist injury in their win over the Sparks last time out. The 6-foot-3 forward set WNBA single-season records for total rebounds (446) and offensive rebounds (172) and her 26 doubles-doubles this season — including a league-record 15 in a row — are the second most in WNBA history.