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The San Antonio Stars have held their own without Kayla McBride and Jia Perkins, largely because of Sophia Young-Malcolm's solid play.
They haven't been able to win on the road no matter who's been in uniform, though.
San Antonio could be without that duo again as it looks to prevent the Chicago Sky from winning a fourth straight home game Sunday night.
McBride leads the Stars (4-11) in scoring at 14.0 points per game and Perkins is third at 12.1, but McBride's foot injury and Perkins' calf issue have kept them out for the last five contests.
Young-Malcolm has averaged 14.2 points while San Antonio has gone 2-3 in that stretch after she finished with 18 in Friday's 65-58 home win over Tulsa. Danielle Robinson scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the Stars pull away.
"I thought we just made a lot of second-effort plays on top of playing in the fourth quarter with some energy," coach Dan Hughes said. "We rebounded the ball well. We just did a good job of defensively creating a climate. We didn't foul a lot, and we didn't unnecessarily give them uncontested shots. It gave us an opportunity."
Center Jayne Appel, who returned from a three-week absence just as McBride and Perkins went down, added nine rebounds and four blocks. It's unclear when McBride or Perkins will be able to return.
"It is just about getting a rhythm," Young-Malcolm said. "I feel like our team is building a lot of chemistry at this moment. We are communicating a lot and having a little bit more fun than we did at the start of the season."
San Antonio hasn't been able to overcome its problems on the road, though. The Stars are 0-8 away from home and join Los Angeles as the only clubs yet to win a road game.
They dropped to 0-6 overall - the worst start in franchise history - after falling 95-87 in overtime at home against Chicago on June 20 despite 16 points from McBride and 16 and 11 boards from Young-Malcolm.
Elena Delle Donne had 28 points and Cappie Pondexter had 24 for Chicago (9-6), which had lost three of the previous four meetings.
Delle Donne leads the league in scoring at 24.0 points per game, but she's shot just 36.8 percent while averaging 12.3 over her last three. Delle Donne, who will start in the WNBA All-Star Game after receiving the most fan votes, finished 5 of 15 from the field and scored 14 points in Friday's 84-66 loss to Minnesota that snapped a four-game win streak.
Pondexter, who is averaging 16.7 points and could be named an Eastern Conference reserve when the roster is announced Tuesday, shot 2 of 9 and scored a season-low four.
She had averaged 22.3 over her previous three, which coincided with a home winning streak on which the Sky won by an average of 18.3 points.
The San Antonio Stars have held their own without Kayla McBride and Jia Perkins, largely because of Sophia Young-Malcolm's solid play.
They haven't been able to win on the road no matter who's been in uniform, though.
San Antonio could be without that duo again as it looks to prevent the Chicago Sky from winning a fourth straight home game Sunday night.
McBride leads the Stars (4-11) in scoring at 14.0 points per game and Perkins is third at 12.1, but McBride's foot injury and Perkins' calf issue have kept them out for the last five contests.
Young-Malcolm has averaged 14.2 points while San Antonio has gone 2-3 in that stretch after she finished with 18 in Friday's 65-58 home win over Tulsa. Danielle Robinson scored 10 of her 16 points in the fourth quarter to help the Stars pull away.
"I thought we just made a lot of second-effort plays on top of playing in the fourth quarter with some energy," coach Dan Hughes said. "We rebounded the ball well. We just did a good job of defensively creating a climate. We didn't foul a lot, and we didn't unnecessarily give them uncontested shots. It gave us an opportunity."
Center Jayne Appel, who returned from a three-week absence just as McBride and Perkins went down, added nine rebounds and four blocks. It's unclear when McBride or Perkins will be able to return.
"It is just about getting a rhythm," Young-Malcolm said. "I feel like our team is building a lot of chemistry at this moment. We are communicating a lot and having a little bit more fun than we did at the start of the season."
San Antonio hasn't been able to overcome its problems on the road, though. The Stars are 0-8 away from home and join Los Angeles as the only clubs yet to win a road game.
They dropped to 0-6 overall - the worst start in franchise history - after falling 95-87 in overtime at home against Chicago on June 20 despite 16 points from McBride and 16 and 11 boards from Young-Malcolm.
Elena Delle Donne had 28 points and Cappie Pondexter had 24 for Chicago (9-6), which had lost three of the previous four meetings.
Delle Donne leads the league in scoring at 24.0 points per game, but she's shot just 36.8 percent while averaging 12.3 over her last three. Delle Donne, who will start in the WNBA All-Star Game after receiving the most fan votes, finished 5 of 15 from the field and scored 14 points in Friday's 84-66 loss to Minnesota that snapped a four-game win streak.
Pondexter, who is averaging 16.7 points and could be named an Eastern Conference reserve when the roster is announced Tuesday, shot 2 of 9 and scored a season-low four.
She had averaged 22.3 over her previous three, which coincided with a home winning streak on which the Sky won by an average of 18.3 points.
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