Pokey rips Sky, calls team ‘soft’

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ROSEMONT, IL - JUNE 25: Epiphanny Prince #10 of the Chicago Sky looks to pass while defended by Diana Taurasi #3 of the Phoenix Mercury during the WNBA game on June 25, 2011 at the All-State Arena in Rosemont, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2011 NBAE (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

Updated: June 27, 2011 3:34PM

The Phoenix Mercury came out tight Saturday night after flying into town from Atlanta earlier in the day, giving the Sky a great opportunity to jump on top early.

Instead, the Sky let Phoenix hang around and, when the Mercury loosened up in the second half, it ran away with an 86-78 victory at Allstate Arena.

The Sky (4-4) led 40-37 at halftime despite scoring 17 points off 14 Mercury turnovers.

“Should have been up by 12 [at halftime],” Sky coach Pokey Chatman said. “We were just playing with no sense of urgency. I must be the worst coach in the world. I can’t get my team to play hard for 40 minutes. I’m going to take responsibility for that, but they need to take responsibility as well.

“We lost the game because we’re soft. That sums up a lot.”

The Mercury (4-3), which has won four in a row, scored 16 of the first 18 points of the third quarter as the Sky went without a field goal for the first 6:09 of the period. The Sky made three field goals and turned the ball over 10 times in the third.

The Sky forced the Mercury to play at a much slower pace than it wanted to in the first half. The Mercury, which entered the game averaging just shy of 91 points per game, scored 16 in the first quarter and 37 in the first half.

The Mercury kept the game close because its defense was much better than it has been all season. Its bigs regularly switched out onto Courtney Vandersloot and Epiphanny Prince and challenged the interior passing lanes to Sylvia Fowles, forcing the Sky to use up most of the shot clock and settle for contested shots on almost every possession.

“It’s not always physical, it’s ­mental,” Chatman said. “I’m sick of hearing myself say the same words over and over. We’re going to figure it out or we’re going to keep coming up short.”

Diana Taurasi led the Mercury with 23 points on 8-for-15 shooting. Penny Taylor added 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. After a scoreless first half, former Sky star Candice Dupree had 13 points and eight boards.

Fowles led all scorers with 28 points and 11 rebounds — her seventh consecutive game of at least 20 points — but she missed numerous easy shots around the basket.

With a home game against San Antonio coming up Tuesday, Chatman left her team with a simple message: “Make up your mind and get it done or we’ll be 4-30.”