SAN ANTONIO – When Sylvia Fowles is on her game, there's few players in the WNBA who can stop her.
Fowles proved that by scoring 28 points and grabbing 17 rebounds to help the Chicago Sky beat the San Antonio Silver Stars 85-73 on Sunday.
"She did it early, she did it in the middle, she did it late," Sky coach Pokey Chatman said. "When she couldn't do it, she snatched some boards."
Fowles hit 12 of 16 shots from the field for Chicago (11-14), which won for only the second time in its last six games. The Silver Stars (13-10) have lost five of their last seven games.
Chicago led by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter before a San Antonio run cut the lead to eight points late.
Jia Perkins scored 18 points, Sophia Young had 16, Becky Hammon had 14 and Scholanda Robinson had 10 for San Antonio, which beat Chicago 84-74 on June 28.
Tamera Young scored 15 points for Chicago, and Michelle Snow had 11.
The Sky outrebounded the Silver Stars 45-20 and held the Silver Stars to 41.5 percent shooting from the field. The Sky jumped to an 18-point lead at halftime.
Robinson's 3-pointer with 2:10 left pulled the Silver Stars within 81-73, but Tamera Young responded with back-to-back layups as Chicago held on.
"This is the first year I can be myself," Fowles said. "My first two years I got hurt, last year was an off year for me. But this season, I feel like I can broaden my horizons and get better."
Fowles had 22 points and 12 rebounds by halftime, dominating the Silver Stars' centers. The 6-foot-6 star sent San Antonio starting center Ruth Riley to the bench with three fouls with 8:30 left, and backup Jayne Appel didn't fare any better.
The Silver Stars went to a zone late in the first half, but it didn't matter as the Sky's lead mushroomed to as many as 19 points. The Sky outrebounded the Silver Stars 28-8 in the half and held them to 29 percent shooting from the field.
"That's about as dominating a presence in the post that I have ever seen," Silver Stars coach Dan Hughes said. "And I've coached over 300 games."
Reserves Perkins, Danielle Robinson and Appel started the second half for the Silver Stars, who pulled within 14 on Young's layup with 4:50 left. But, after a Dominique Canty jumper, Erin Thorn hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Chicago its biggest lead of the half at 22 with 3:19 left.
The Sky went up by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter, taking a 71-46 lead on Snow's layup with 8:56 left.
Fowles has now scored in double figures in 58 straight games. Sophia Young was the Silver Stars' leading rebounder with six. Fowles had that many rebounds on the offensive glass alone.
"She just had a monster game," Tamera Young said. "We'd take jump shots and miss, and she'd just go in and clean up the boards, just going to work."
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