WNBA Chicago Sky

Sky Drop Fifth Straight in Loss to Sun, 73-79

Published on August 20, 2023 under Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Chicago Sky News Release


The Chicago Sky lost to the Connecticut Sun on Sunday evening, losing their fifth straight game. After dropping 104 points in three straight games, the Sky have failed to eclipse 80 points since Aug. 8. The Sky dropped to 12-20 with the loss, 1.5 games behind the Los Angeles Sparks for the No. 8 seed in the playoff picture. Chicago is now 31-33 against Connecticut all time. The Sky are now 5-11 at home and 3-14 against the Eastern Conference this season. The loss also gives the Sun the season series win, with Connecticut going up 3-0 in the season series. The two teams play once more in the Sky's season finale on Sept. 10.

The Sky got a balanced offensive attack in today's game and spread the ball well, with six of the Sky's eight rotation players scoring nine or more points. However, Chicago shot just 14.3% from three on 21 attempts while the Sun made seven of their 21 attempts (33.3%). Four of the Sky's starters scored in double figures (Kahleah Copper - 15, led the team; Elizabeth Williams - 14, Courtney Williams - 11, Marina Mabrey - 11).

Alyssa Thomas continued her dominant 2022-23 campaign by scoring 22 points and adding eight assists and five rebounds. Thomas is averaging 18.3 points, 10.0 assists and 7.7 rebounds against the Sky this season. Rebecca Allen pitched a great defensive game for the Sun, putting up four blocks and two steals in addition to seven points, nine rebounds and four assists. Natisha Hiedeman (13 points), Tiffany Hayes (12 points) and DeWanna Bonner (13 points) accounted for 38 of the Sun's 79 points.

Other highlights include:

Alyssa Thomas passed Erika de Souza (1,436 career defensive rebounds) for 25th on the WNBA's all-time defensive rebounds list, ending today with 1,437 career defensive rebounds

Thomas passed Asjha Jones (3,336 Sun points) for second on the Sun all-time points scored list, finishing today with 3,346 points scored in her Sun career

DeWanna Bonner passed Tina Thompson (2,185 career defensive rebounds) for eighth on the WNBA's all-time defensive rebounds list, finishing today's game with 2,189 career defensive rebounds

Elizabeth Williams tied her season high for assists in a game with six (Also recorded six against Indiana on July 2)

NEXT UP: The Sky stay at home to take on the Seattle Storm for the second game of the team's current three-game home stretch.

The season series between the Sky and the Storm is tied, 1-1. The Sky beat the Storm in Seattle on July 22 before the Storm returned the favor by beating the Sky in Chicago on July 28. The Sky are 18-24 against the Storm all time.

In the July 22 game, the Sky set several franchise and personal highs. Alanna Smith recorded a career-high 17 rebounds, bringing down 14 in her first 16 minutes of play, which alone snapped her previous career high. Her 17 rebounds at the time tied Alyssa Thomas for the most rebounds by any one player in a single game this season. The Sky dominated the boards, setting a franchise high for rebounds in a half with 31 and tied their season high for rebounds in a game with 44. The Sky won that game 90-75 as Kahleah Copper dropped 29 points to lead the team.

However, in the July 28 matchup, it was the opposite story. The Storm had 24 total rebounds in the July 22 game but had 24 rebounds by the end of the first half of the July 28 matchup. Elizabeth Williams was impactful for Chicago, stuffing the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, three assists and six blocks, though the Sky ended up falling 74-83.

The matchup between Seattle and Chicago tips at 7 p.m. CST on Tuesday, Aug. 22.

KEY RUNS:

The Sun went on a 12-4 run from 5:22 to 2:42 in the first quarter

The Sky responded with a 22-8 run from 2:42 in the first quarter to 5:06 in the second quarter

The Sun countered the Sky's dominant first-to-second quarter stretch with a 12-2 run to end the second quarter, from 2:46 to 0:03

KEY STATS:

The Sun took a 45-40 lead over the Sky into halftime. The Sky are now 2-18 when down at halftime

The Sky, who ranked third in the WNBA in blocks per game with 4.8 entering today's game, blocked just three shots today

The Sun outrebounded the Sky 33-25. The Sky are now 6-12 when being outrebounded

The Sun outscored the Sky 17-8 in fast-break points

The Sky had more points in the paint (34-28), more offensive rebounds (7-5), more second chance points (19-7), fewer turnovers (12-16), allowed fewer points off turnovers (11-17) and had more bench points (13-12), but lost

CHICAGO NOTES:

Kahleah Copper dropped eight of her 15 points in the first quarter and eight of the Sky's 23 points in the period

Copper scored five of her 15 points in the third quarter and five of the Sky's 17 in the period

Elizabeth Williams, who is averaging 3.1 assists per game in the months of July and August entering today's game (compared to 1.8 assists per game in May and June), put up six assists in today's game. Her 2.4 assists per game on the season entering the season are a career high

Elizabeth Williams' 81 assists this season are a career high with eight games remaining in the regular season. Her 81 assists are more than her previous two seasons combined and she's just two assists away from tying her total across the previous three seasons combined (83)

Elizabeth Williams accounted for seven of the Sky's 23 points in the first quarter (two points, five points created from assists)

Elizabeth Williams accounted for 10 of the Sky's 16 points in the third quarter (seven points, three points created from assists)

Courtney Williams accounted for six of the Sky's 23 points in the first quarter (four points, two points created from assists)

Courtney Williams created four points from two assists in the third quarter

Courtney Williams and Elizabeth Williams combined for 12 of the Sky's 21 assists

Every Sky starter scored at least two points by the end of the first quarter

Alanna Smith created six points off her two assists in the second quarter

Marina Mabrey accounted for 10 of the Sky's 17 second-quarter points (eight points, two points created from assists)

Dana Evans is averaging 13.5 points across the Sky's past two games

CONNECTICUT NOTES:

DeWanna Bonner (453 career games played) tied Rebekkah Brunson for 13th on the WNBA's all-time games played list

Tiffany Hayes accounted for 11 of the Sun's 25 points in the first quarter (seven points, four points created from assists)

Every Sun starter scored at least two points by the end of the first quarter

Alyssa Thomas accounted for 13 of the Sun's 25 first-quarter points (six points, seven points created from assists)

Thomas accounted for 11 of the Sun's 20 second-quarter points (six points, five points created from assists)

Rebecca Allen reached 100 career offensive rebounds

Allen tied her season high for steals in a single game, a figure she has reached nine times this season, snagging two today

The Sun recorded three blocks in the fourth quarter

Natisha Hiedeman accounted for six of the Sun's 13 points in the fourth quarter (three points, three points created from assists)

Check out the Chicago Sky Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Women's National Basketball Association Stories from August 20, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central