Kahleah Copper had 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Alanna Smith scored 15 points and the Chicago Sky used a big second quarter to beat the Minnesota Lynx 77-66 on Friday night in their WNBA opener.
The Sky pulled away in the second quarter after outscoring the Lynx 22-3 for a 44-27 halftime lead. The Lynx shot just 1 for 15 from the floor in the quarter and turned it over 11 times, leading to 13 Sky points.
The Sky held a double-digit lead for the first 18 minutes of the second half until Kayla McBride made it 75-66 with 1:03 left in the fourth. Smith answered with two free throws to help seal it.
Elizabeth Williams added 14 points and Rebekah Gardner had 10 for the Sky, who scored 17 points off 20 Lynx turnovers.
Napheesa Collier, who missed most of last season while on maternity leave, led the Lynx with 17 points and McBride added 12. Diamond Miller, the No. 2 pick out of Maryland, had nine points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes.
The Sky also beat the Lynx in a preseason game Saturday behind 18 points from Copper in the WNBA’s first visit to Canada.