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WNBA Chicago Sky

Sky Clinch Playoff Berth in Regular Season Home Against Minnesota, Win 92-87

September 9, 2023 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


The Chicago Sky clinched a spot in the 2023 WNBA Playoffs by defeating the Minnesota Lynx 92-87 inside Wintrust Arena on Friday night in the team's final home game of the season. This will be Chicago's fifth straight playoff appearance. The Sky are locked into the No. 8 seed in the playoffs, facing a to-be-determined opponent (either the Las Vegas Aces or the New York Liberty).

Chicago finishes the season 7-13 at home, winning the season series with the Lynx 2-1. The Sky won season series against Minnesota, Indiana, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle and Phoenix this season. The Sky are now 13-7 against the Western Conference on the year and 18-24 against Minnesota all time.

In Friday's game, Marina Mabrey set the Sky's single-season record for three-pointers in a season with 83, passing Allie Quigley, who had 80 made threes in 2019. The Sky were led by an all-around scoring attack, with Kahleah Copper leading the team in points with 20. Mabrey finished the game with 19 points, hitting four three-pointers. Courtney Williams added a double-double of 13 points and 11 assists and the Sky outscored the Lynx 25-1 off the bench, their highest disparity this season.

The Lynx kept it close with Chicago all game, with Napheesa Collier and Diamond Miller leading the way for Minnesota. Collier finished with 28 points, eight rebounds, five assists and tied her career-high in steals with four, a feat she has accomplished 13 times. Miller finished one point shy of her career high with 24 points. Kayla McBride scored 16 points while DorkaJuhász finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block.

Other highlights include:

Marina Mabrey tied her career high for steals in a game with four

Kayla McBride passed Allie Quigley (510 career three-pointers) for 15th on the WNBA's all-time three-pointers made list, finishing tonight with 511 career three-pointers

Kahleah Copper tied her career high in three-pointers made with five, a number she's hit twice before

Sika Koné pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. She also added six points

RuthyHebard scored a season-high 10 points in just 12 minutes of play

NEXT UP: The Sky hit the road to take on the Connecticut Sun in the Mohegan Sun Arena for their final regular season game on Sunday, Sept. 10. Chicago has yet to defeat the Sun this season, losing 0-3 in the season series.

In the last matchup between the two teams, Connecticut defeated the Sky in Wintrust Arena 93-79 on Aug. 20. Chicago struggled to connect from behind the three-point line, shooting 14.3% (3 of 21) from three. Kahleah Copper led the Sky with 15 points, and Elizabeth Williams (14 points), Courtney Williams (11 points) and Marina Mabrey (11 points) all added double-digit scoring performances.

Alyssa Thomas led all scorers in that game with 22 points on 61.5% (8 of 13) shooting from the floor, adding eight assists and five rebounds to her stat line. DeWanna Bonner recorded 13 points and eight rebounds, while Natisha Hiedeman put up 13 points and Tiffany Hayes added 12 points in the winning effort.

The Sky's final regular season game takes place on Sunday, Sept. 10 inside the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. The game tips at noon CST and will be broadcast nationally on CBSSN.

KEY RUNS:

The Sky went on a 15-6 run from 1:33 in the first quarter to 5:52 in the second quarter

The Sky went on a 14-6 run from 5:26 in the first quarter to 1:48 in the second quarter

The Lynx went on a 14-6 run from 4:40 to 1:33 in the third quarter

Chicago responded with a 16-6 run from 0:45 in the third quarter to 3:58 in the fourth quarter

KEY STATS:

The Lynx outscored the Sky 12-4 in the paint in the first quarter

The Sky shot just 27.3% from the floor in the first quarter while the Lynx shot 60% from the floor

Chicago outscored the Lynx 13-0 in bench points in the first half and went on to outscore the Lynx by a season-high 24 points off the bench

The Sky are now 14-3 after leading at halftime. The Sky led 44-39 at halftime in tonight's game

The Lynx (11 steals) and the Sky (eight steals) had a combined 19 steals in tonight's game

CHICAGO NOTES:

Marina Mabrey notched three steals in the first quarter, tying her career high for steals in a quarter (Has done so twice before, most recently on 9/13/20)

Mabrey's three steals tied a season high for steals in a game, which she set on 6/6 vs. Indiana

Mabrey scored eight of the Sky's 26 points in the fourth quarter

Dana Evans accounted for 11 of the Sky's 28 points in the second quarter (seven points, four points created from assists)

Courtney Williams created six points off three assists in the second quarter

Courtney Williams accounted for 14 of the Sky's 22 points in the third quarter (six points, eight points created from assists)

This is Courtney Williams' third points-assist double-double this season. This is also her fourth game this year with 10 or more assists. She did not have a single game in her career before this year with 10 or more assists

Kahleah Copper accounted for 12 of Chicago's 22 third-quarter points (six points, six points created from assists)

The Sky moved to 5-9 on Coach's Challenges this season after a successful challenge by Emre Vatansever in the fourth quarter

Sika Koné pulled down seven of her 10 rebounds in the fourth quarter

MINNESOTA NOTES:

Napheesa Collier accounted for 10 of the Lynx's 19 points in the first quarter (six points, four points created from assists)

Collier recorded three steals in the first quarter

Collier had 21 of the Lynx's 39 points in the first half and 11 of their 20 points in the second quarter

Tiffany Mitchell scored seven of the Lynx's 20 points in the second quarter

Mitchell and Collier scored all but two of Minnesota's points in the second quarter

Bridget Carleton notched two steals in the second quarter

Diamond Miller scored 11 of Minnesota's 23 points in the third quarter

Miller and Collier combined for 52 of the Lynx's 87 total points

DorkaJuhász accounted for nine of the Lynx's 23 points in the third quarter (two points, seven points created from assists)

Kayla McBride scored seven of the Lynx's 25 points in the fourth quarter

Check out the Chicago Sky Statistics

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