Once on similar trajectories with young, rebuilding teams, the Sky and Fever have separated in dramatic fashion.

And on Friday night at Wintrust Arena, there was no comparison to be drawn as the Sky lost 100-81, dropping to 4-12 at home and 11-20 on the season.

As the Fever continue to become a stronger team, the Sky are on the brink of coming undone.

“We came out exactly how we wanted to and just lost it,” guard Rachel Banham said.

The Sky built up a 13-point lead in the first quarter but maintained it for just six seconds. By the time the first-quarter buzzer sounded, the lead was down to three.

From there, the Fever — with the top-ranked offense since the second week of July — flexed their muscle, leading by 25 by midway through the fourth quarter, at which point things began to get chippy. The Sky were called for two flagrant fouls against Fever guard Caitlin Clark, including one by veteran Diamond DeShields in garbage time. As Clark streaked down an open court in transition, DeShields ran with her in stride before lowering her shoulder slightly. Clark tumbled to the floor.

Her ensuing free throws extended the Fever’s lead to 27. DeShields wasn’t ejected but opted to head back to the locker room, raising her hands as fans cheered.

“Us vets have to step up in those moments,” Banham said in response to a question afterward about the heightened emotions. “We have to keep [the team] composed. I think we could have done a better job of that. We all were just kind of losing our minds at the end.”

Clark led all scorers with a career-high 31 points and 12 assists and was 8-for-14 from the field and 5-for-9 from three-point range. It was her third game with at least 25 points and 10 assists — the most in a season in WNBA history, according to ESPN. Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell extended her streak of 20-plus-point games to six, finishing with 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting.

Michaela Onyenwere led the Sky with 20 points, and fellow forward Angel Reese had her 23rd double-double — surpassing Tina Charles’ rookie record — with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Banham added 14 point shooting 4-for-10 from three.

The Sky and Fever’s previous three meetings were decided by a total of 10 points. This 19-point thrashing told a different story. It was the first time the Sky gave up 100 points this season.

“If you’re not motivated after getting your ass whooped, then you have a problem,” Banham said.

The Sky hung their hats on defense in the first half of the season but have won just one game since the Olympic break and now have the third-worst defensive rating in the league.

“Defense is a will and a want to,” coach Teresa Weatherspoon said. “It’s a desire. Defense is the hardest damn thing you’re going to play in this game, and you do so under control without fouling. In that third quarter, we sent them to the line over and over and over.”

The Fever, currently sixth in the standings, could likely bounce whichever team they meet in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Sky’s season-worst five-game losing streak is threatening to erase them from the postseason altogether. They’re a game ahead of the Dream in the eighth and final spot with a two-game road trip coming up against the Lynx and Aces.