Hot-shooting Sky beat East-leading Sun 96-76

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) Cappie Pondexter scored a season-high 29 points and the Chicago Sky beat the Connecticut Sun 96-76 on Sunday, their second win in 11 days over the Eastern Conference leader.

Pondexter made her first seven shots for 19 first-half points with her first miss on a 25-footer at the halftime buzzer. She finished 11 for 14, including 5 for 6 from 3-point range.

''I thought Cappie got off to a great start,'' Sky head coach Pokey Chatman said. ''And that got everyone else comfortable and we were able to close it out, play a lot of people, and do some really nice things to get ready for our next game.''

The Sky (8-5) won their third straight overall despite the Sun (7-4) again holding the WNBA's scoring leader, Elena Delle Donne (26.9 ppg), to a season-low 12 points.

''It's amazing to have someone like Cappie out there,'' Delle Donne said. ''She's not only a great scorer but a facilitator as well.''

Pondexter, who also had seven assists, gave credit to her team's system.

''It's a free-pacing offense where everybody has the green light,'' she said. ''It's a great offensive team. We're really really ahead of where we should be ... so it's kind of scary.''

Jessica Breland added 12 points for the Sky who led 49-41 at the half and pulled away for good with a 6-0 run to open the third. Breland's jumper with 5:09 left in the fourth gave the Sky their largest lead at 90-65.

Kelsey Bone returned from her one-game suspension to lead the Sun with 18 points. Alex Bentley added 14 and Kelly Faris scored a season-high 12 points with her former UConn coach Geno Auriemma in attendance along with DePaul head coach Doug Bruno.

It was the second straight loss overall for the Sun who had been idle since the July 2 matchup with the Sky. Chicago added a victory over the WNBA-leading Minnesota Lynx on Friday.

''All credit to Chicago,'' Sun head coach Anne Donovan said. ''They played lights out. I thought they showed great confidence and composure against Minnesota, and they took the next step tonight against us.''

The Sky took a 2-1 lead in the season series and an 18-17 lead in overall meetings.

Rookie center Clarissa Dos Santos made her first career WNBA start for Chicago and finished with eight points.

Former prep standout Jacki Gemelos scored her first WNBA points on a 3-pointer for the Sky early in the fourth quarter. The 26-year-old rookie persisted in her goal of joining the league despite suffering five ACL tears.