Delle Donne, Sky hold off Dream’s rally, 100-96 in OT

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) – Elena Delle Donne scored a career-high 45 points, Cappie Pondexter moved into eighth place on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list and the Chicago Sky beat the Atlanta Dream 100-96 in overtime on Wednesday.

Chicago limited Atlanta to two points in the first four minutes of the five-minute overtime, but Angel McCoughtry 3-pointer pulled Atlanta within 98-96 with 8.4 seconds left. Delle Donne sealed it with two free throws with 6 seconds remaining and blocked her sixth shot on Atlanta’s final possession.

Delle Donne set a WNBA record by making 19 consecutive free throws. She also grabbed 11 rebounds to record her third consecutive double-double for Chicago (4-3). Pondexter hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 7:07 left in the third quarter to pass Katie Douglas on the WNBA’s scoring list. She finished with 19 points.

McCoughtry had 34 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta (3-6). The Dream were without Tiffany Hayes, the team’s second-leading scorer, and Aneika Henry, both at the European Games.

Chicago led by as many as 17 points on Courtney Vandersloot’s 3-pointer with 2:44 left in the third. But Atlanta came back, outscoring Chicago 16-7 to start the fourth quarter to get within 76-73 on Roneeka Hodges’ free throw.

Chicago made its first 22 free throws, but missed two in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Atlanta’s McCoughtry made a layup with 8.3 seconds left to tie the game at 86. Delle Donne turned it over on the ensuing possession and Atlanta’s Sancho Lyttle missed a runner at the buzzer. It was Chicago’s second consecutive overtime game.

On June 19, Atlanta beat Chicago 74-73 on McCoughtry’s 16-foot jumper at the buzzer.