Kamilla Cardoso finds another gear, but Sky still unravel against Wings

ARLINGTON, Texas — Sky center Kamilla Cardoso had been operating at a quiet hum lately: solid, steady, rarely spectacular.

Entering play Saturday, she hadn’t scored more than 15 points since May 23 against the Lynx. Against the Wings, she reintroduced the higher gear.

Cardoso led the Sky with 26 points, shooting 10-for-13 from the field, and adding nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks in another game they let slip away.

The Sky gave up a 14-point lead entering the fourth quarter and lost 93-92, their second consecutive one-point loss. They are knocking on the door but still can’t seem to push through, undone again by small miscues, missed free throws and big calls that went against them late.

The good news is that Cardoso imposed her will. When she brings force and focus, teams such as the Wings — who are short on frontcourt depth — have no real answer.

‘‘She’s just a paint presence that you have to worry about,’’ Wings star Paige Bueckers said before the game.

Wings coach Jose Fernandez was concerned about Cardoso’s size from the jump. He said before the game the key was making contact with her early and keeping her from burying his players in the post.

Even with that as the plan, Cardoso kept catching the ball where she wanted it: under the basket, deep in the paint, with defenders already in trouble. She drew fouls, finished cleanly or found the open cutter or shooter.

A physical 6-7 scorer who can see the floor is a serious threat. The rest of the league knows it. The issue is that the Sky haven’t always sustained it.

They will feed Cardoso consistently for a quarter or a half, only for the offense to drift away from her. Too often, she goes long stretches without touching the ball.

The Sky know it and are working on fixes.

One way to keep Cardoso involved through those lulls is the pick-and-roll with Skylar Diggins. Diggins is an excellent pick-and-roll player and has developed quick chemistry with Cardoso in their first year playing together.

Cardoso said the connection already feels natural. Diggins knows when Cardoso is open on the roll, and Cardoso knows when Diggins has space to pull up.

‘‘I think that’s been really good for us,’’ Cardoso told the Sun-Times.

It has, and the Sky can lean into it more.

The other fix is simpler: Cardoso has to avoid foul trouble so she can stay on the court when the Sky need her most.

After scoring crucial baskets down the stretch, Cardoso fouled out in the final minute, sending Li Yueru to the free-throw line to put the Wings ahead by one.

Coach Tyler Marsh defended Cardoso after the game.

‘‘It was a wrongly called foul on her to put her out the game,’’ Marsh said. ‘‘It’s unfortunate. She played her ass off the entire game to put ourselves in position to have a chance to win it, and to be fouled out on a call that seemed like a phantom call to me, it’s tough.

‘‘You hurt our players for what they gave. Did we make some mistakes down the stretch? Of course. At the same time, we can’t have those types of calls called on us and then the non-calls go against us.’’

Some big calls did go against the Sky late. Guard Natasha Cloud was called for a foul on a three-pointer by Bueckers that pulled the Wings within a point. Guard Sydney Taylor also fouled out with less than a minute to go while chasing a screen. She appeared to get hooked on the play.

Other issues, however, were controllable.

Free throws were another problem for the Sky down the stretch. They were 19-for-29 from the line, and Cardoso went 6-for-10.

Late-game execution remains an issue. So does keeping Cardoso available.

When she plays with force, she is an anchor the Sky can build around. But even her best game in weeks wasn’t enough to put them over the top.