WNBA Chicago Sky

Chicago Drops Close Game In Connecticut

Published on June 11, 2015 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


CHICAGO- On Thursday night, the WNBA's leading scorer Elena Delle Donne and the Chicago Sky returned to the court for the third game of the 2015 regular season battling the Connecticut Sun at the Mohegan Sun Arena. In a game that came down to the final seconds of regulation, Connecticut forward Alyssa Thomas connected on two free throws to help the Sun escape with the 67-65 victory at home.

Despite being held scoreless in the first three minutes of the game and trailing by as many as 14 points in the first half, Chicago did not give up. After scoring just two points in the first, Delle Donne poured in 12 in the second to begin a scoring onslaught where the Sky outpaced the Sun 20-7 in the final eight minutes of the second quarter. Six of Delle Donne's 12-second quarter points came as part of a 12-2 run to close the half, cutting Connecticut's lead to just one, 39-38.

Chicago took its first lead of the game, 41-40 early in the second half and battled back-and-forth with Connecticut throughout the third quarter. The Sun led 65-60 with 1:15 remaining in regulation but the Sky scored five unanswered points, capped off by a Pondexter driving layup to tie the game at 65 with 10 seconds left on the clock. Connecticut quickly inbounded the ball and went the full length of the court to find Alyssa Thomas open in the lane. Vandersloot attempted to save the basket with a foul, however, Thomas hit both free throws to help Connecticut escape with the 67-65 victory.

Delle Donne led all scorers in the game with 27 points. Cappie Pondexter added 14 points and eight rebounds and Vandersloot finished with 13 points and four assists for Chicago.

"You have to give credit to Connecticut," said Vandersloot. "They played hard, they had a game plan especially for Elena, she was not getting many easy looks and she worked real hard for everything. We have to be ready for that and knock down shots and play off of Elena (Delle Donne) because every team knows what she can do. It's a learning experience for us and we will watch film and get ready for the next game."

Chicago will look to bounce back as they play their next three games on the road, before returning home to Allstate Arena on June 24th to battle the Atlanta Dream at 11:30 am CT. To purchase tickets call 866.SKY.WNBA or visit CHICAGOSKY.NET.

Postgame Notes:

Chicago Sky 65, Connecticut Sun 67

Notes:

The Sky played without 2014 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year Allie Quigley who temporarily suspended as she joins the Hungarian National Team to compete in the EuroBasket tournament, which runs from June 11-28 in Hungary.

Sky guard/forward Elena Delle Donne led all scorers in the game with 27 points. She has amounted 98 points in the Sky's first three regular season games.

The Sky entered the night averaging 94 points while shooting 48.6 percent from the field. Connecticut was holding opponents to 71.5 points per game on 36.8 percent shooting. The Sky finished with 65 points, and shot 36.2 percent.

The Sun beat the Sky for just the second time in nine meetings dating back to the start of the 2013 season. Chicago won six in a row before the Sun broke that losing streak with a victory on June 25, 2013. Chicago won the last meeting 82-66 last August 5th.

Second-year forward Alyssa Thomas finished with 14 points and eight rebounds, narrowly missing her second career double-double. Her first was against Chicago last June 25th. Thomas scored eight of her points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of clutch free throws with 1.9 seconds remaining to put the Sun ahead 67-65.

Third-year guard Alex Bentley led the Sun in scoring for the third straight game, finishing with 16 points.

Third-year center Kelsey Bone had her first double-double of the season, the sixth of her career, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Bone had three double-doubles last season and two as a rookie with the New York Liberty. Bone had six rebounds and seven points in the fourth quarter.

Quotes:

Chicago Sky Head Coach and General Manager Pokey Chatman

(Opening Statement...)

"From the beginning it was disappointing to come out and give up 26 points in the first quarter, especially coming off a poor defensive performance in our previous game. In the second quarter we hold them to 13 and give ourselves a chance, but then some of the mistakes we made early on reared its ugly head, some matchups, some offensive rebound put backs and you can't do that against anyone in this league especially against a good Connecticut team at home."

(On if she was happy with her team's defensive performance in the second half allowing just 28 points...)

"It is one of those things. Offensive is the side that gets all the highlights on SportsCenter, but as coaches and players know that you have to get it done defensively and we didn't from the beginning and never quite recovered."

(On whether she can take a positive on coming back from the 14-point deficit...)

"No, nothing positive about that. Comeback kids do not win a lot of games and people just remember the one that they win. You want to set the tone early and have people chasing you."

Chicago Sky Guard Courtney Vandersloot

(On why her team struggled to score tonight...)

"You have to give credit to Connecticut. They played hard, they had a game plan especially for Elena, she was not getting many easy looks and she worked real hard for everything. We have to be ready for that and knock down shots and play off of Elena (Delle Donne) because every team knows what she can do. It's a learning experience for us and we will watch film and get ready for the next game."

(On her team rallying from the 14-point deficit to take the lead...)

"That says a lot about us, but that is not the type of team and not the reputation that we want to have that we get in a hole and have to fight our way back and that has been the case the last two games and both have been losses so I don't think that is doing a lot for us right now."

Chicago Sky Guard/Forward Elena Delle Donne

(On what changes they made after the slow start...)

"We finally stuck to the coaches' schemes and did what we were supposed to do coming in. You can't come out, especially after a loss to Tulsa and expect to win on someone's home court. It's awful to dig a hole to start the game and that is something that we need to fix immediately."

(On what Connecticut did to shut her down in the first quarter...)

"Obviously they are going to focus all the attention on me, so at that point other people need to attack and I will find the open man. That is why you have to be a versatile offense and be able to attack in many different ways. Some nights they are going to want to take away me and other nights they are going to want to take away Cappie (Pondexter), but you have to adjust."

(On the lack of offense for both teams in the second half...)

"Our focus was defense in the second half and we were able to grit down and play much better defense and obviously they were able to do the same. I think it was more a great defensive effort than a poor offensive effort."

Connecticut Sun Head Coach Anne Donovan

(Opening Statement...)

"There were a lot of positives after this one. Super, super happy. For us to hold Chicago to 27 points in the second half - we talked about that at halftime. We started off with great offense, great defense and then we lost it in the second quarter. In the second half, we made it our focus again. We made life difficult for Elena (Delle Donne). (Kelsey) Bone came in and took care of backboards today like we talked to her about, so it was some good stuff."

(On the aggressiveness of Kelsey Bone...)

"Yes, we talked to her specifically about that. Going into this game, we talked to the posts about who our rebounding leaders were and who our leading rebounders were not and I think they took it a little bit more personally. If we can get a double-double from Bone on most nights, we're in good shape."

(On free throws...)

"I haven't been real impressed with our free throw shooting. So the fact that we were in the bonus, we had another foul to give, that was the other piece of our defense. We had some great stops."

(On team chemistry...)

"They really trust each other. When Alex (Bentley) makes those kinds of plays, it speaks a lot for this team because Alex is a confident player and she's looking to find other people when they really step up and stop her, which they try to do. This team really enjoys playing with each other and there's a lot of trust going on right now and that's evidence on the floor."

Connecticut Sun Center Kelsey Bone

(On the game...)

"It's unnerving, but I feel like we did a really good job on minimizing our mistakes. There were some questions at the end, but we didn't make them bigger than what it needed to be."

(On Elena Delle Donne...)

"When you have a great player like that who is so good at getting to the free throw line, you do have to be careful, but we played a great game tonight. We fought, we stayed together, and that's the product. That's your Connecticut Sun this year."

(On team chemistry...)

"We were able to exploit some match-ups early. I was able to get going early and then they keyed in on me. I'm always going to look for the open play. Alyssa Thomas had an advantage, we got her going in the stretch of the fourth and then something opened up for me. At the end of the day, we just play together. We're looking for each other. We're trying to find things. As long as we stay together and I think that's the biggest thing you can hear in this locker room, it's all about staying together."

Connecticut Sun Forward Camille Little

(On Elena Delle Donne...)

"You just have to make the shots tough early, you have to be in her space. Make her adjust, pivot or something without just shooting it openly. We made it tough for her."

(On the team...)

"This team is held to a very high standard. I don't care how young or old we are."

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